Communications of the ACM
Consumers vs. Citizens in Democracy's Public Sphere
Attempting to balance the challenging trade-offs between individual rights and our obligations to one another.
From ACM Opinion
The Cyberwar Needs More Women on the Front Lines
Educating girls to be the cybersecurity leaders of tomorrow will help combat criminals who prey on women and children.
From ACM Opinion
Why Is Facebook So Afraid of Checking Facts?
The biggest social network in the world has the wrong idea for how to fight Covid-19 conspiracies.
From ACM Opinion
Big Data Could Undermine the COVID-19 Response
Blind spots in location-tracking data can threaten both public health and human rights.
From ACM Opinion
When School Is Online, the Digital Divide Grows Greater
Most U.S. schools are closed, with instruction shifting to the Internet. That's a problem for millions of people without reliable broadband, including 20 percent...
From ACM Opinion
We Need to Talk About 'Cloud Neutrality'
Given how critical the cloud has become for a huge swath of the tech economy, maybe we should ask ourselves whether this infrastructure should be in the hands of...
From ACM Opinion
Stop Saying Driverless Cars Will Help Old People
And maybe start including them in research instead of just assuming we know what they want.
From ACM Opinion
Trolling Is Now Mainstream Political Discourse
We are heading down the dystopian path. Trolling has become a mainstream form, if not the mainstream form of political discourse.
From ACM Opinion
Mark Zuckerberg Needs to Shut Up
Since 2017, nearly every time the Facebook CEO has tried to sound thoughtful, he's sounded unprepared, shallow, and full of hubris. Time to zip it.
From ACM Opinion
The Danger of Thinking We're All 'Addicted' to Tech
Telling ourselves that devices and platforms "hijack" our brains promotes passivity instead of empowerment.
From ACM Opinion
Why American Workers Need to Be Protected From Automation
Bill de Blasio, New York City mayor and a candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, says that as president he would issue a robot tax for corporations...
From ACM Opinion
Wouldn't It Be Great If People Could Vote on the Blockchain?
Mobile voting could increase voter participation, but it's plagued by security issues in search of a solution.
From ACM Opinion
VR Could Be the Most Powerful Teaching Tool Since the PC
Virtual reality is much more than a gaming technology. In fact, VR has the makings of a pedagogical silver bullet.
From ACM Opinion
Shoot-'Em-Up Videogames Don't Warp Minds – Big Tech Does
It takes a lot of effort, research, and efficiency to manipulate people online and influence their behavior in the real world. Silicon Valley has it down to a science...
From ACM Opinion