Communications of the ACM
It Is Time to Let Go of 'Virtual Reality'
Advocating standardized terminology and reporting guidelines for mixed reality research.
From ACM Opinion
A Controversial Plan to Encrypt More of the Internet
The road to routing all Domain Name System lookups through HTTPS is pocked with disagreements over just how much it will help.
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
Digital Textbooks Are Forcing a Radical Shift in Higher Education
The last several years have seen a shift in textbook policies at colleges and universities — one that has more recently turned tectonic.
From ACM Opinion
Under Trump, The Fight Against Cybercrime Has Waned
The U.S. government is not doing enough to combat the burgeoning threat of cybercrime.
From ACM Opinion
The FBI Wanted a Backdoor to the iPhone. Tim Cook Said No
In 2016, Tim Cook fought the law—and won.
From ACM Opinion
The Robocall Crisis Will Never Be Totally Fixed
Years into the robocalling frenzy, your phone probably still rings off the hook with "important information about your account," updates from the "Chinese embassy...
From ACM Opinion
Huawei's Problem Isn't Chinese Backdoors. It's Buggy Software
A report on Thursday from a British government oversight group found that Chinese telecom-equipment maker Huawei has basic but deeply problematic flaws in its product...
From ACM Opinion
Will AI Achieve Consciousness? Wrong Question
When Norbert Wiener, the father ofcybernetics, wrote his book The Human Use of Human Beings in 1950, vacuum tubes were still the primary electronic building blocks...
From ACM Opinion
China Will Likely Corner the 5G Market, and the S Has No Plan
You may have heard that China has cornered much of the world's supply of strategic metals and minerals crucial for new technology, including lithium, rare earths...
From ACM Opinion
What Trump's Executive Order on AI Is Missing
President Trump signed an executive order on February 11 meant to shore up our competitive position in the international race for AI supremacy, but it is short...
From ACM Opinion
Trump's Plan to Keep America First in AI
The US leads the world in artificial intelligence technology. Decades of federal research funding, industrial and academic research, and streams of foreign talent...
From ACM Opinion
There's No Good Reason to Trust Blockchain Technology
In his 2008 white paper that first proposed bitcoin, the anonymous Satoshi Nakamoto concluded with: "We have proposed a system for electronic transactions without...
From ACM Opinion
Trump Pledges Investment, But Is Silent on Key Tech Issues
In his State of the Union address Tuesday, President Trump promised legislation to invest in "the cutting edge industries of the future." But the speech was characteristically...
From ACM Opinion
Tor Is Easier Than Ever. Time to Give It a Try
You probably know about the digital anonymity service Tor, but for whatever reason you may not actually use it.
From ACM Opinion
Don't Fear the Robot Overlords; Embrace Them as Coworkers
In a chilly warehouse just outside of Boston, the brute toils away. It's 600 pounds of orange and black metal and whirring motors, a massive robotic arm that picks...
From ACM Opinion