Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
June 2020
From ACM TechNews
Pioneer of Modern Data Center Design Receives Eckert-Mauchly Award
ACM and the IEEE Computer Society have named Google's Luiz Andre Barroso to receive the 2020 Eckert-Mauchly Award.
From ACM TechNews
In Virus-Hit South Korea, AI Monitors Lonely Elders
SK Telecom operates an artificial intelligence-powered network of voice-enabled "smart" speakers to monitor thousands of seniors during the coronavirus pandemic.
From ACM TechNews
Germany, France Hope Cloud Data Project to Boost Sovereignty
Germany and France have launched a project to establish a European cloud computing platform.
From ACM TechNews
Interactive Model Simulates Keeping House on Mars
The Arizona State University (ASU) School of Earth and Space Exploration Interplanetary Initiative is running a pilot program to assess simulated Mars habitats.
From ACM TechNews
'Artificial Chemist' Combines AI, Robotics to Conduct Autonomous R&D
A new technology combines artificial intelligence with robotics for conducting chemical reactions, to expedite R&D and synthesis of materials.
From ACM TechNews
Chip for Biomolecule Detection May Help in Covid-19 Testing
Purdue University researchers have built an application-specific integrated circuit chip for early detection of pathogens and viruses.
From ACM TechNews
Nearly All Google Chrome Security Bugs Involve Memory Flaws
Google researchers have found that the vast majority of security bugs found in the Chrome browser are related to memory management.
From ACM TechNews
Fake News Gets Shared More When It is Angry, Anxiety-Inducing
Researchers in China have found that fake news may go viral more quickly when it uses words associated with anger.
From ACM TechNews
Australia's new Quantum-Supercomputing Innovation Hub, CSIRO Roadmap
Australia's Pawsey Supercomputing Center and quantum computing startup Quantum Brilliance have announced a quantum-supercomputing innovation hub.
From ACM News
Giving AI Common Sense
Can we teach smart machines what is obvious to every 10-year-old?
From ACM TechNews
Carnegie Mellon Tool Automatically Turns Math Into Pictures
A new tool allows anyone to render mathematical abstractions as illustrations.
From ACM TechNews
Evacuating Virtual Buildings
Researchers in the Netherlands are studying how virtual reality and augmented reality could help explain the behavior of pedestrians.
From ACM TechNews
Algorithms Used in Policing Face Policy Review
The U.S. Government Accountability Office last month published the first half of a review of privately developed algorithms used in policing.
From ACM TechNews
Apple Fixes Bug That Could Have Given Hackers Full Access to User Accounts
The Sign in with Apple tool has fixed a bug that could enable attackers to gain access to email accounts.
From ACM TechNews
Butterfly Landmines Mapped by Drones, Machine Learning
Researchers say drones and advanced machine learning can be used to detect improvised explosive devices and butterfly landmines.
From ACM TechNews
Harvard Professor Receives Prize for Contributions to Theoretical Computer Science
Harvard University professor Cynthia Dwork has been named to receive the 2020 Donald E. Knuth Prize for contributions to theoretical computer science.
From ACM TechNews
Microsoft's Quantum-Computing Services Attract New Customers
Microsoft's Azure cloud-hosted quantum-computing services are drawing new customers.
From ACM TechNews
IBM Claims Its Neural Computer Achieves Record AI Model Training Time
Researchers at IBM have developed a reconfigurable parallel processing system called the IBM Neural Computer.
From ACM News
You Can't Hide Your Smiling Eyes
New software can determine whether your smile is real or faked.
From ACM News
Publishers Sue Internet Archive Over Free E-Books
Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Hachette, and Wiley accused the nonprofit of piracy for making over 1 million books free online.
From ACM News
Eye-Catching Advances in Some AI Fields Not Real
Some improvements to artificial intelligence may come from tweaks rather than core innovations, and some of those gains may not exist at all.
From ACM TechNews
Multifunction E-Glasses Track the Brain, Eyes, and More
Researchers have developed prototype multifunctional e-glasses equipped with flexible electrodes near the ears and eyes.
From ACM TechNews
Algorithm Quickly Simulates Roll of Loaded Dice
Researchers have created an algorithm to produce random numbers with the best mix of speed, accuracy, and low memory currently available.
From ACM TechNews
National Security Agency Exposes Tool Used by Russian Hackers
The U.S. National Security Agency last week accused Russian hackers of exploiting a software vulnerability in Linux computers.
From ACM TechNews
Boston Dynamics' Robodog Roams New Zealand Countryside for Sheep Herding
New Zealand software firm Rocos announced a partnership with Boston Dynamics to repurpose the latter's four-legged robotic dog for sheep herding.
From ACM TechNews
To Disinfect Police Car in a Pandemic, Software Cranks Up the Heat
Police departments in several U.S. cities are using updated software from Ford Motor that the automaker claims can kill the coronavirus.
From ACM TechNews
Miss Your Office? Some Companies Are Building Virtual Replicas
Some employers are building virtual reproductions of their offices as online simulations for workers in lockdown during the coronavirus pandemic.
From ACM News
How Automated Background Checks Freeze Out Renters
Algorithms that scan everything from terror watch lists to eviction records spit out flawed tenant screening reports. And almost nobody is watching.
From Communications of the ACM
An Animating Spirit
ACM A.M. Turing Award recipients, Ed Catmull and Pat Hanrahan, overcame industry indifference to found Pixar and put their computer graphics expertise to work.
From Communications of the ACM
Leveraging Unlabeled Data
Deep learning looks for better pretexts.