Communications of the ACM
Truly Ethical AI Needs Research to Be Independent from Big Tech
Curb the power of Silicon Valley and protect those who speak up about the harms of AI
From ACM Opinion
AI Ruined Chess. Now, It's Making the Game Beautiful Again
Former world champion Vladimir Kramnik teamed up with AI researchers at Alphabet's DeepMind lab to test game variants that can jolt chess players into creative...
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
Brett Kavanaugh and the Information Terrorists Trying to Reshape America
Since the advent of Donald Trump's candidacy, there's been a ton of focus on botnets and sockpuppets—automated and semiautomated social media accounts that use...
From ACM Opinion
The Future of Television Is … More Television
Call it Jeffrey Katzenberg's unicorn newborn. An operating company has come into being, ex nihilo, with the blandest of names—NewTV—and a valuation north of $1...
From ACM Opinion
How Plausible Are All Those Mission: Impossible Gadgets, Anyway?
It's been 22 years since Tom Cruise infiltrated a CIA vault suspended from a wire in the first Mission: Impossible flick.
From ACM Opinion
Going To the World Cup? Leave the Laptop at Home
A Russian sports official earlier this year estimated that as many as 2 million people would flock to the country during the World Cup, the month-long celebration...
From ACM Opinion
The Many Shades of Bad Physics
What happens when you see bad physics in the world? Does it make you angry? Does it make you laugh?
From ACM Opinion
Mourning John Perry Barlow, the Bard of the Internet
When I first met John Perry Barlow, we became instant soulmates. While that sentence is true for me, it also applies to probably 10,000 other people.
From ACM Opinion
Remembering rsula Le Guin, Imaginer of Difficult Worlds
Ursula Le Guin imagined the future for a living, but her most prescient statement may have come in a speech.
From ACM Opinion
Don't Get Your Kid an Internet-Connected Toy
For last-minute shoppers, tech toys hold a special appeal.
From ACM News
The Genesis of Kuri, the Friendly Home Robot
Over the course of thousands of years, dogs have evolved alongside humans to be awesome.
From ACM Opinion
Red-Pilled: My Bizarre Week sing the Alt-Right's Vision of the Internet
Scroll with me here. Somebody named BeatlesBaby makes "a very badass chicken curry." Look, there's a nice sepia-tinted pencil drawing of Ned Stark from Game of...
From ACM Opinion
I Helped Create Facebook's Ad Machine. Here's How I'd Fix It
This month, two magnificently embarrassing public-relations disasters rocked the Facebook money machine like nothing else in its history.
From ACM Opinion
To Make Your Conspiracy Theory Legit, Just Find an 'expert'
"MIT Professor Exposes 'Egregious Error' & Evidence Tampering in US Report on Syria Sarin Incident." Pretty good headline, right?
From ACM Opinion
Face It, Meatsack: Pro Gamer Will Be the Only Job Left
Look at economic data closely and the trends aren't pretty: People with elite backgrounds are hoovering up an increasing share of new income and wealth.
From ACM Opinion
Lady Gaga's Halftime Show Drones Have a Bright Future
The best Super Bowl halftime shows leave indelible memories, be it a notorious wardrobe malfunction, that goofy Left Shark, or every last second of Beyoncé's two...
From ACM Opinion
At 25, the World Wide Web Is Still a Long Way From Reality
Twenty-five years ago today, Tim Berners-Lee unleashed the World Wide Web, publishing the first public webpage. Well, maybe.
From ACM Opinion
The Doom of Your Memories Doesn't Really Exist
If you played Doom during its heyday in the 90s, I have some disappointing news: it's not as frightening as you remember.
From ACM Opinion
The Return of Arthur C. Clarke's Fantastic Vision of Jupiter
The Juno space probe is now in orbit around Jupiter, meaning space buffs around the world are eagerly awaiting whatever new data the probe sends back.
From ACM Opinion