Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
January 2020
From ACM News
Toshiba Says it Created an Algorithm that Beats Quantum Computers using Standard Hardware
The company hopes to commercialize it in the financial industry
From ACM TechNews
U.K. Police Use of Facial Recognition Tests Public's Tolerance
The testing of facial recognition technology by police in the U.K. has provoked outrage.
From ACM TechNews
U.S. to Ground Civilian Drone Program on Concerns Over China Tech
The U.S. Department of the Interior reportedly plans to permanently ground a civilian drone fleet, because the approximately 1,000 drones are partly sourced from China.
From ACM TechNews
AB InBev Taps Machine Learning to Root Out Corruption
Brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev spent three years developing machine learning technology to spot corruption in its business partners.
From ACM TechNews
The Way You Dance is Unique, and Computers Can Tell It's You
Researchers at Finland’s University of Jyvaskyla have taught computers to identify individuals by their dance style.
From ACM TechNews
Brain-Like Network Uses Disorder to Detect Order
Researchers have developed a brain-inspired disordered network for detecting ordered patterns, which uses "hopping conduction" to reach solutions without predesigned elements.
From ACM News
AI Can Do Great Things—if It Doesn't Burn the Planet
The computing power required for AI landmarks, such as recognizing images and defeating humans at Go, increased 300,000-fold from 2012 to 2018.
From ACM News
Alan Turing's Degree, Medal, Memorabilia Recovered in Colorado
Items seized after woman offered them for loan to university.
From ACM TechNews
Study Finds AI Viable Tool to Detect Changes in Patients' Mental Health
A study found machine learning artificial intelligence is as accurate as physicians in detecting changes in clinical states from patients' speech.
From ACM TechNews
Quantum Computing Remains a Challenge for Tech Firms
Some big technology companies and startups have found their progress on quantum computing remains in the early stages, despite years of substantial investment.
From ACM TechNews
Brain Model Offers New Insights Into Damage Caused by Stroke, Other Injuries
The University at Buffalo's Christopher McNorgan has developed a computer model of the human brain that more accurately simulates brain-impairment patterns than previous techniques.
From ACM News
Avoiding Carsickness When the Cars Drive Themselves
If the future lets people focus on work instead of driving during the daily commute, many of us will have to conquer motion sickness to read memos (or tweets). Researchers are working on some fixes.
From ACM News
New MacArthur Fellow Takes Aim at Online Harassment, Doxing
Danielle Citron, a privacy scholar who has done pioneering work in combating hate crimes and other abuses in cyberspace, has been named a 2019 MacArthur fellow.
From ACM News
How 'Spooky' is Quantum Physics? The Answer could be Incalculable
Proof at the nexus of pure mathematics and algorithms puts 'quantum weirdness' on a whole new level.
From ACM TechNews
Are Your Students Bored? This AI Could Tell You
Researchers have created an artificial intelligence (AI) system that analyzes students' emotions to measure their engagement level in a class.
From ACM TechNews
Tech Start-up Develops AR Contact Lenses
Start-up Mojo Vision is developing augmented reality contact lenses to allow wearers access to the Internet in real time.
From ACM TechNews
A Robot Equipped with Real Feathers Flies Like a Bird
Stanford University researchers affixed actual pigeon feathers to a robot to allow it to fly like a bird.
From ACM TechNews
Gov. Murphy Aims to Train More Workers for High-Tech Jobs
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has announced a new program that would help train workers for careers in computer science and other high-tech jobs.
From ACM TechNews
A Low-Power, Highly Responsive, Reusable Sweat pH Monitor
National University of Singapore researchers have developed an upgrade to wearable health monitors that can read the pH of wearers' sweat.
From ACM TechNews
Bundesliga, Amazon Want to Predict What Happens Next
Germany’s Bundesliga professional football (soccer) league is making Amazon its official technology provider, providing statistics (among other things) for the soccer league's TV broadcasts and digital products.
From ACM TechNews
How Well Can Computers Connect Symptoms to Diseases?
A new study found that health knowledge graphs perform poorly for diseases with high percentages of very old or young patients, or high percentages of male or female patients.
From ACM TechNews
Wall Street Banks Ramp Up Research Into Quantum Finance
Wall Street banks are accelerating their research into quantum computing.
From ACM TechNews
Scientists Improve Yield Predictions Based on Seedling Data
Scientists have computationally improved the accuracy of crop yield forecasts according to genetic data from corn seedlings.
From ACM News
Exploring the Theory of Computing
In his new book, Avi Wigderson argues for computing’s central role in human thought.
From ACM News
Facebook Will Now Remind You When It's Not the Only One Looking at Your Data
Facebook users will now receive notifications reminding them that third parties have a glimpse into their information, and that controls are available to restrict how much personal data they can collect.
From ACM TechNews
Scientists at UVM, Tufts Create 'Living Robots'
Researchers have created tiny living robots made of frog cells using a supercomputer, an achievement with implications for regenerative medicine.
From ACM TechNews
Tech Industry Rallies Behind Google in Supreme Court Fight
Some of Google's biggest rivals filed amicus briefs on its behalf Monday in a copyright battle with Oracle.
From ACM TechNews
How to Beat South Korea's AI Hiring Bots and Land a Job
Major South Korean companies are using artificial intelligence (AI) to screen job applicants, giving rise to an industry to help job-seekers beat these systems.
From ACM TechNews
Memory Storage for Super-Cold Computing
Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have demonstrated a cryogenic memory cell circuit incorporating three inductively coupled Josephson junctions that can harness magnetic flux to store data.
From ACM TechNews
Grindr, OkCupid Spread Personal Details, Study Says
Online dating services are spreading personal user information in ways that may violate privacy laws in Europe and elsewhere.