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A.i. Inspiration: The Science Fiction That Frames Discussion
From ACM Opinion

A.i. Inspiration: The Science Fiction That Frames Discussion

Science fiction comes up often in serious discussions about artificial intelligence and weapons.

AI Is Not Out to Get ­S
From ACM Opinion

AI Is Not Out to Get ­S

Elon Musk's new plan to go all-in on self-driving vehicles puts a lot of faith in the artificial intelligence needed to ensure his Teslas can read and react to...

Inside Microsoft's Quest For a Topological Quantum Computer
From ACM Opinion

Inside Microsoft's Quest For a Topological Quantum Computer

The race is on build a "universal" quantum computer. Such a device could be programmed to speedily solve problems that classical computers cannot crack, potentially...

Could Obama's Threat of Retaliation Against Russia Lead to Cyberwar?
From ACM Opinion

Could Obama's Threat of Retaliation Against Russia Lead to Cyberwar?

Late last week Obama administration officials used NBC News to send Moscow a cryptic threat: The U.S. government is "contemplating an unprecedented cyber covert...

Whoever Wins the White House, This Year's Big Loser Is Email
From ACM Opinion

Whoever Wins the White House, This Year's Big Loser Is Email

Every four years, pundits race to anoint this or that newfangled tech trend as the next disruptive force to forever alter the mechanics of American democracy.

Dwarf Planets Aren't Big News, Because Astronomy Is Doing a Great Job
From ACM Opinion

Dwarf Planets Aren't Big News, Because Astronomy Is Doing a Great Job

Last week, astronomers  announced the discovery of DeeDee, a possible dwarf planet. That name—dwarf planet—means it is like Pluto: Massive enough to assume a spherical...

Inside Nat Geo's Incredible Documentary Mission to Mars
From ACM Opinion

Inside Nat Geo's Incredible Documentary Mission to Mars

A spaceship is preparing to land on Mars when the crew notices that one of the thrusters isn’t firing.

I Just Want Nate Silver to Tell Me It's All Going to Be Fine
From ACM Opinion

I Just Want Nate Silver to Tell Me It's All Going to Be Fine

Evan has a habit. He's not ashamed of it, but he doesn't want to reveal too much about himself, lest his colleagues learn how he’s spending so much of his time.

How to Turn Your Self-Driving Car Into a Time Machine
From ACM Opinion

How to Turn Your Self-Driving Car Into a Time Machine

The self-driving car's greatest promise is that it will buy its passengers that most precious and finite of resources: time.

Obama's Concerned an AI Could Hack America's Nukes
From ACM Opinion

Obama's Concerned an AI Could Hack America's Nukes

During his eight years in office, President Barack Obama has seen hackers grow into a threat no president has faced before.

Welcome Your New Robot Overlords: Humans
From ACM Opinion

Welcome Your New Robot Overlords: Humans

I became a robot.

Surveillance in the Post-Obama Era
From ACM Opinion

Surveillance in the Post-Obama Era

During his 2008 campaign, President Obama vowed to assert greater oversight of the massive surveillance apparatus built in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, arguing...

Can a Chatbot Teach You a Foreign Language? Duolingo Thinks So
From ACM Opinion

Can a Chatbot Teach You a Foreign Language? Duolingo Thinks So

Chatbots suck.

Why Big Pharma Wants to Collect 2 Million Genomes
From ACM Opinion

Why Big Pharma Wants to Collect 2 Million Genomes

Five months after announcing its intentions to gather genome sequences from 2 million people, pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has selected geneticist David Goldstein...

An Ode to the Rosetta Spacecraft as It Flings Itself Into a Comet
From ACM Opinion

An Ode to the Rosetta Spacecraft as It Flings Itself Into a Comet

Today, the European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft will engage its thrusters for one final maneuver: a suicidal plunge toward the comet it has been orbiting...

Y2k 2.0: Is the ­.s. Government Set to 'give Away the Internet' Saturday?
From ACM Opinion

Y2k 2.0: Is the ­.s. Government Set to 'give Away the Internet' Saturday?

Remember the projected Y2K bug disaster? The world's computers would supposedly go haywire as the clock ticked to January 1, 2000, thus destroying the world and...

Why Data Is the New Coal
From ACM Opinion

Why Data Is the New Coal

"Is data the new oil?" asked proponents of big data back in 2012 in Forbes magazine. By 2016, and the rise of big data's turbo-powered cousin deep learning, westated Fortune...

Grading the Presidential Candidates on Science
From ACM Opinion

Grading the Presidential Candidates on Science

Two weeks ago, Scientific American asked for your help in grading the presidential candidates on their answers to 20 questions about various aspects of scientific...

The Internet Is No Place For Public Elections
From ACM Opinion

The Internet Is No Place For Public Elections

Despite what your local election officials may tell you, you can’t trust the Internet with your vote.

What If the Aliens We Are Looking For Are Ai?
From ACM Opinion

What If the Aliens We Are Looking For Are Ai?

For more than a century we have been broadcasting our presence to the cosmos.
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