Communications of the ACM
Let's Not Dumb Down the History of Computer Science
Donald Knuth on the best way to recognize the history of computer science.
From ACM Opinion
How D-Wave's Quantum Machine Could Help Exotic Physics
Picture a computer. Now I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you were probably thinking of your laptop, or maybe even your smartphone if you're being smart...
From Communications of the ACM
Navigating with Accelerating Technology Change
Mathematical tools such as S-curves locate inflection points in technology-accelerated social spaces; where we move next depends on our navigational skills.
From Communications of the ACM
An Academic's Observations from a Sabbatical at Google
How experiences gained in industry can improve academic research and teaching.
From Communications of the ACM
Is Software the Result of Top-Down Intelligent Design or Evolution?
Considering the potential danger to individuals of rapid coevolution.
From ACM Opinion
What Went Wrong With IBM's Watson
What if artificial intelligence can't cure cancer after all?
From ACM Opinion
Honoring the '80s, Def Con's Badge Is also a Text Adventure
Nearly 30,000 people came to Las Vegas last week for the 26th edition of DEF CON, the iconic security conference. And no small amount of the mental energy of that...
From ACM Opinion
Why AI Researchers Shouldn't Turn Their Backs on the Military
More than 2,400 AI researchers recently signed a pledge promising not to build so-called autonomous weapons—systems that would decide on their own whom to kill....
From ACM Opinion
We Are Merging With Robots. That's a Good Thing.
Here are some things that are true today:
From ACM Opinion
AI for Cybersecurity Is a Hot New Thing, and a Dangerous Gamble
When I walked around the exhibition floor at this week's massive Black Hat cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas, I was struck by the number of companies boasting...
From ACM Opinion
There Will Never Be an Age of Artificial Intimacy
Years ago I spoke with a 16-year-old girl who was considering the idea of having a computer companion in the future, and she described the upside to me.
From ACM Opinion
What America Must Do to Remain the World's High-Tech Leader
Artificial intelligence (AI) often is erroneously identified as an emerging technology.
From ACM Opinion
Google's Duplex AI Scares Some People, but I Can't Wait for It to Become a Thing
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic," Arthur C. Clarke famously wrote. That line must have zoomed through 5,000 audience brains...
From ACM Opinion
Brains Keep Temporary Molecular Records Before Making a Lasting Memory
The first dance at my wedding lasted exactly four minutes and 52 seconds, but I'll probably remember it for decades.
From ACM Opinion
Startup JITX ses AI to Automate Complex Circuit Board Design
While anyone can learn how to design a circuit board, it takes a skilled engineer to design a circuit board that is both well optimized and unlikely to melt, explode...
From ACM Opinion
As Moore's Law Dies, the Chip Giants Seek Fresh Prey
After a five-year, $240 billion acquisition spree, there's a suspicion that the nature of deal-making in the semiconductor industry may be starting to change.
From ACM Opinion
Why Westerners Fear Robots and the Japanese Do Not
As a Japanese, I grew up watching anime like "Neon Genesis Evangelion," which depicts a future in which machines and humans merge into cyborg ecstasy.
From ACM Opinion
How NASA Was Born 60 Years Ago from Panic Over a 'Second Moon'
The origins of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration can be traced all the way back to the Wright brothers, but the real story happened over less than...
From ACM Opinion
The Ethics of Computer Science: This Researcher Has a Controversial Proposal
In the midst of growing public concern over artificial intelligence (AI), privacy and the use of data, Brent Hecht has a controversial proposal: the computer-science...
From ACM Opinion
Supreme Court Struggles to Define 'Searches' as Technology Changes
What the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution means when it protects citizens against an unreasonable search by government agents isn't entirely clear.
From ACM Opinion