Communications of the ACM
The opinion archive provides access to past opinion stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
June 2021
From ACM Opinion
Large Language Models Associate Muslims with Violence
New approaches are needed to systematically reduce the harmful bias of language models in deployment.
From ACM Opinion
Research Collaborations Bring Big Rewards: The World Needs More
We need diverse teams collaborating to help navigate and overcome social and geopolitical challenges.
From ACM Opinion
Google's AI Approach to Microchips Is Welcome—but Needs Care
Artificial intelligence can help the electronics industry to speed up chip design. But the gains must be shared equitably.
From ACM Opinion
The Coming Productivity Boom
AI and other digital technologies have been surprisingly slow to improve economic growth. But that could be about to change.
From ACM Opinion
The Brutal Truth About Bitcoin
Are cryptocurrencies the wave of the future and should you be using and investing in them?
From ACM Opinion
As Science Advances, Does Ockham's Razor Still Apply?
The notion that the simpler explanation is usually right has been useful for centuries. New science may change that.
From ACM Opinion
When AI Becomes Child's Play
Algorithms trained in pattern recognition struggle to understand kids.
From ACM Opinion
Amid a Pandemic, a Health Care Algorithm Shows Promise and Peril
A machine learning-based score designed to aid triage decisions is gaining in popularity, but lacking in transparency.
From ACM Opinion
Climate Policy Models Need to Get Real About People—Here's How
To predict how society and political systems might actually respond to warming, upgrade integrated assessment models.
From ACM Opinion
Wanted: Rules for Pandemic Data Access That Everyone Can Trust
In the wake of COVID-19, a pandemic treaty could be a way to agree on data access before the next emergency strikes.
From ACM Opinion
What Makes Quantum Computing So Hard to Explain?
To understand what quantum computers can do—and what they can’t—avoid falling for overly simple explanations.
From ACM Opinion
Are We Waiting for Everyone to Get Hacked?
Leon Panetta is one of the few American government officials who can look around at the nation's rolling cyberdisasters and justifiably say, “I told you so.”
From ACM Opinion
The U.S. Needs a National Strategic Computing Reserve
One year after supercomputers worked together to fight COVID-19, it's time to broaden the partnership to prepare for other crises.
From ACM Opinion
Does AI Have an Alignment Problem?
The problems and the possibilities of AI are, in a very deep way, the problems and possibilities of humanity.
From ACM Opinion
Reward Is Enough for Generalized AI
The generic objective of maximizing reward is enough to drive behavior that exhibits most abilities studied in natural and artificial intelligence.
From ACM Opinion
Reducing Racial Bias in AI Models for Clinical Use
To fully address the issue of racial bias in AI models for clinical use, a top-down intervention is required.
From ACM Opinion
First Science Adviser in Biden Cabinet Talks COVID, Spying, and More
As a member of the Biden cabinet, new OSTP Director Eric Lander may have more access and influence than any science adviser before him.
From ACM Opinion
Polarized Scientific Views Are Worse Than Ever
Interactions between science and politics are now so complex, so numerous, and often so opaque that it’s not clear anymore whom to trust.
From ACM Opinion
Getting More People With Disabilities Developing Technology Is Good for Everyone
It's not just a matter of fairness and inclusion. Accessible technology is generally better for everyone.
From ACM Opinion
Machine Learning Security Needs New Perspectives and Incentives
Researchers and developers racing to make deep learning available to different applications need to actively seek out and address security challenges before they cause irreparable damage.
From ACM Opinion
A Number Theorist Who Connects Math to Other Creative Pursuits
Jordan Ellenberg calls on mathematics to explore everything from Internet fads to voting rights.
From ACM Opinion
Theorists and Experimentalists Must Join Forces
Collaborations between theorists and experimentalists are crucial for accelerating research.
From Communications of the ACM
The Risks of Election Believability (or Lack Thereof)
With 90% of the 2020 U.S. general election ballot contents verifiable by paper, why do only 65% of voters trust the results?
From Communications of the ACM
Aversion to Versions
Code needs to run anywhere as long as the necessary dependencies can be resolved.
From Communications of the ACM
Locality and Professional Life
The locality principle extends beyond computer memories. It teaches us something about being human.
From Communications of the ACM
Depth and Persistence: What Researchers Need to Know About Impostor Syndrome
Understanding impostor syndrome's complexity and its effect on research persistence.
From Communications of the ACM
Collusion Rings Threaten the Integrity of Computer Science Research
Experiences discovering attempts to subvert the peer-review process.
From Communications of the ACM
A Vision to Compute like Nature: Thermodynamically
Advocating a new, physically grounded, computational paradigm centered on thermodynamics and an emerging understanding of using thermodynamics to solve problems.
The Evolution of Computing Power in Switzerland
06.14.2021Milestones in the history of computing from the Swiss National Supercomputing Center, Lugano.
A MERge Analysis of an Organizational Change: The Case of Internalization at Home
06.09.2021How the Technion assimilated its international activities into its other units’ activities and, at the same time, reduced operational costs …
New Areas for Application of Self-Organizing Routing
06.01.2021To organize the productive work of multiprocessor chips, it is necessary to establish an efficient distribution of computational processes between …