The opinion archive provides access to past opinion stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
We should think twice before allowing autonomous AI systems to decide what research warrants publication.
Standing in a pink desert landscape, I looked down and realized I'd become a robot, with skinny metal legs and pincers for hands.
D-Wave, a company based in British Columbia, has announced a new version of its quantum annealer: the D-Wave 2000Q. As the name suggests, the number of bits has increased from about 1,000 to just over 2,000.
As we look ahead to the Trump presidency, instead of scapegoating, we need significant investments in a sustainable education strategy that prepares youths to effectively participate in the world of tomorrow.
"Pope Francis Shocks World, Endorses Donald Trump for President." "FBI Agent Suspected in Hillary Email Leaks Found Dead of Apparent Murder-Suicide." "Rush Reveals Michelle's Perverted Past After She Dumps on Trump."
During the first 24 hours of the Trump administration, the new White House took a clear, firm stand against publicly available information.
Fake news isn't just Macedonian teenagers or internet trolls.
The Curiosity rover has been on Mars since Aug. 6, 2012.
One of the promises that virtual reality offered was that we'd all be able to watch "courtside" sports games without having to leave our couches.
There is little doubt that the web is the greatest gift that any intelligence agency could have ever asked for.
If you're familiar with the comedian John Oliver, then you may also remember the man he once memorably called a "dingo." That's Tom Wheeler, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.
Automakers ask drivers to trust and share U.S. roadways with autonomous vehicles, but there is no easy answer as to when they will be considered "safe."
As the privacy and civil liberty community braces for Donald Trump's impending control of US intelligence agencies like the NSA, critics have called on the Obama administration to rein in those spying powers before a man with…
Trucks that can drive themselves along delivery routes. Computers capable of defeating world champions in a notoriously complex game. Apps that can translate sentences with near human-like accuracy.
The image above doesn’t look like much at a glance, does it?
Tall, small, dancing, singing, cleaning, sassy, silly, cute and scary—CES 2017 was awash with robots.
The Pentagon's research and development division, DARPA—the creative force behind the internet and GPS—retooled itself three years ago to create a new office dedicated to unraveling biology's engineering secrets.
Ten years ago, Nokia was the world's largest phone maker. Microsoft was gearing up to launch Windows Vista. And the best new products at CES included a wireless TV and an MP3 player that streamed internet radio.
The value of bitcoin surged past $1,000 this week, the first time it has reached such heights since late 2013.
On September 14, 2016, days before the premiere of Oliver Stone's hagiographic movieSnowden, Human Rights Watch, the American Civil Liberties Union and Amnesty International launched a well-funded campaign, with full-page ads…
The invention and commercialization of the internet is one of the things that makes America great.
What does 2017 hold for the world of tech and media?
Where do you hope education technology will go in 2017? What aspects of curriculum or community might get us there?
Last year was huge for advancements in artificial intelligence and machine learning. But 2017 may well deliver even more.
Quantum computing has long seemed like one of those technologies that are 20 years away, and always will be.
Can I be totally honest? All I remember about Frankenstein is that Frankenstein is the doctor, not the monster. What happens in it?
Whether it was a billion compromised Yahoo accounts or state-sponsored Russian hackers muscling in on the US election, this past year saw hacks of unprecedented scale and temerity.
A relatively simple query raises myriad complicated issues.
Considering the impact of recent ITAR changes to the U.S. software industry and software education.
Considering legal uncertainty in the online environment.