Communications of the ACM
The U.S. Is Losing a Major Front to China in the New Cold War
A swathe of the world is adopting China's vision for a tightly controlled internet over the unfettered American approach, a stunning…
From ACM Opinion
As Governments Adopt Artificial Intelligence, There's Little Oversight and Lots of Danger
Artificial intelligence systems can—if properly used—help make government more effective and responsive, improving the lives of citizens. Improperly used, however...
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
Is Julian Assange a Journalist, or Is He Just an Accused Thief?
Is Julian Assange a journalist? The Justice Department sidestepped that question in its indictment of Assange.
From ACM Opinion
The U.S. Campaign Against Huawei Can Offer No U.S.-Based Alternatives
As U.S. officials have pressured allies not to use networking gear from Chinese technology giant Huawei over spying concerns, President Trump has urged American...
From ACM Opinion
Untold History of AI: The DARPA Dreamer Who Aimed for Cyborg Intelligence
At 10:30pm on 29 October 1969, a graduate student at UCLA sent a two-letter message from an SDS Sigma 7 computer to another machine a few hundred miles away at...
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
U.S. Allies Should Heed the Warnings about Huawei
In a recent newspaper advertisement, the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei appealed to common sense.
From ACM Opinion
A Journey, If You Dare, Into the Minds of Silicon Valley Programmers
Code seems cold and objective, the raw logic of the internet, and Silicon Valley likes it that way.
From ACM Opinion
Despite Consumer Worries, the Future of Aviation Will Be More Automated
In the wake of the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes of Boeing 737 Max planes, people are thinking about how much of their air travel is handled by software...
From ACM Opinion
How the Data Mining of Failure Could Teach Us the Secrets of Success
Thomas Edison is often described as America's greatest inventor. His successes include electric power generation, sound recording, and the electric lightbulb.
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
Robots on the Run
Young animals gallop across fields, climb trees and immediately find their feet with enviable grace after they fall.
From ACM Opinion
Cars Are Regulated for Safety, Why Not Information Technology?
As the computing industry grapples with its role in society, many people, both in the field and outside it, are talking about a crisis of ethics.
From ACM Opinion
Facebook and Google Aren't the Only Ones Tracking Your Clicks
Criticism of big tech companies that track us across the internet without our informed consent misses a bigger picture: There are hundreds of ad-tracking companies...
From ACM Opinion
How 2D Semiconductors Could Extend Moore's Law
The number of components in electronic circuits has doubled every two years since the 1960s—a trend known as Moore's law.
From ACM Opinion
The FAA Rigorously Tested the Boeing 737's Software
Two Boeing 737 Max 8 airplanes have crashed under similar circumstances in the past six months, one in October in Indonesia and the other in Ethiopia last week....
From ACM Opinion
A Second 737 Max Crash Raises Questions about Airplane Automation
As you read this, over a million people are in flight. Close to a third of the commercial airplanes in the sky at any given moment are Boeing 737s: it is the best...
From ACM Opinion