Communications of the ACM
What Would the Chatbot Say?
Seeking to explain the unanticipated abilities of large language models.
From ACM NewsAn edited collection of advanced computing news from Communications of the ACM, ACM TechNews, other ACM resources, and news sites around the Web.
From ACM News
History-Making Philae Lander Faces 'eternal Hibernation' on Comet
Exactly 15 months after it completed a seemingly impossible journey to land on the surface of a comet, the Philae lander now faces "eternal hibernation," as officials...
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Massive Space Telescope Is Finally Coming Together
This week, NASA is set to reach a milestone on one of its most ambitious projects. If all goes to plan, workers will finish assembling the huge mirror of the ...
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The President Wants Every Student to Learn Computer Science. How Would That Work?
President Obama used his final State of the Union address Tuesday night to reflect on his legacy. But he also put forth some specific proposals for his remaining...
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Machines, Lost in Translation: The Dream of Universal Understanding
It was early 1954 when computer scientists, for the first time, publicly revealed a machine that could translate between human languages. It became known as the...
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China's Internet Forum May Provide a Peek at Its Cyber-Ambitions
Heads of state, including the prime ministers of Pakistan and Russia, and major technology firms will gather Wednesday in Wuzhen, a picturesque little town of canals...
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What Can—or Should—internet Companies Do to Fight Terrorism?
After the recent attacks in Paris and in San Bernardino, Calif., social media platforms are under pressure from politicians to do more to take down messages and...
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A Tiny Pill Monitors Vital Signs from Deep Inside the Body
After testing all the pieces of a tiny pill-size device, Albert Swiston sent it on a unique journey: through the guts of six live Yorkshire pigs.
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Could Your Social Media Footprint Step On Your Credit History?
In December 1912, financier John Pierpont "J.P." Morgan testified in Washington before the Bank and Currency Committee of the House of Representatives investigating...
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It's Not Just Vw: A Robust Market For Reprogramming Vehicles
Lawmakers want to know more about Volkswagen's massive cheat—how the automaker used software to crank up the power on a vehicle, and then hide the fact.
From ACM Careers
Dartmouth Football's Brilliant Dummies
Wearing a green Dartmouth College jersey, the newest player on the school's football team readies for action during a preseason practice.
From ACM Opinion
How Close Are We Really to a Robot-Run Society?
From Rosie, the Jetsons' robot maid, to Arnold Schwarzenegger's cyborg in The Terminator, popular culture has frequently conceived of robots as having a human-like...
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Diy Tractor Repair Runs Afoul of Copyright Law
The iconic image of the American farmer is the man or woman who works the land, milks cows and is self-reliant enough to fix the tractor. But like a lot of mechanical...
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Beam Me Up? Teleporting Is Real, Even If Trekkie Transport Isn't
"I have a hard time saying this with a straight face, but I will: You can teleport a single atom from one place to another," says Chris Monroe, a biophysicist at...
From ACM News
Getting 'physical' and Emotional in Virtual Reality
If you think about virtual reality, you probably think of it as the place where gamers don an Oculus headset and go shoot up enemies in 3D or travel space.
From ACM Opinion
Attention White-Collar Workers: The Robots Are Coming For Your Jobs
From the self-checkout aisle of the grocery store to the sports section of the newspaper, robots and computer software are increasingly taking the place of humans...
From ACM Careers
After Snowden, the Nsa Faces Recruitment Challenge
Daniel Swann is exactly the type of person the National Security Agency would love to have working for it.
From ACM Opinion
What If Web Search Results Were Based on Accuracy?
Imagine, for a moment, that every Web search gave only accurate, verified information.
From ACM News
Someday Soon, You May Pay Your Restaurant Bill With A Retina Scan
The past 30 years have seen payments shift from cash and checks to debit cards and websites, and most recently to mobile phone apps, including Apple Pay and ...
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