Communications of the ACM
An edited collection of advanced computing news from Communications of the ACM, ACM TechNews, other ACM resources, and news sites around the Web.
From ACM News
Supercharged Crime-Scene DNA Analysis Sparks Privacy Concerns
Genetic sleuthing techniques that led to the arrest of a suspect in the infamous Golden State Killer case this year are set to become vastly more powerful, suggest...
From ACM News
How AI Technology Can Tame the Scientific Literature
When computer scientist Christian Berger's team sought to get its project about self-driving vehicle algorithms on the road, it faced a daunting obstacle.
From ACM News
Artificial Intelligence Nails Predictions of Earthquake Aftershocks
A machine-learning study that analysed hundreds of thousands of earthquakes beat the standard method at predicting the location of aftershocks.
From ACM News
A Toolkit for Data Transparency Takes Shape
Julia Stewart Lowndes studied metre-long Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas), tagging them to track their dives, as a graduate student at Stanford University in California...
From ACM News
How npaywall Is Transforming Open Science
After being kicked out of a hotel conference room where they had participated in a three-day open-science workshop and hackathon, a group of computer scientists...
From ACM TechNews
The Ethics of Computer Science: This Researcher Has a Controversial Proposal
Brent Hecht, chair of ACM's Future of Computing Academy, proposes revising the peer review process to ensure scientists report negative societal consequences of...
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 News
Speaking in Code: How to Program by Voice
Debilitating hand pain is always bad news, but Harold Pimentel's was especially unwelcome.
From ACM News
New Human Gene Tally Reignites Debate
One of the earliest attempts to estimate the number of genes in the human genome involved tipsy geneticists, a bar in Cold Spring Harbor, New York, and pure guesswork...
From ACM News
The Scant Science Behind Cambridge Analytica's Controversial Marketing Techniques
The practices of Cambridge Analytica, a data-analytics firm involved in US President Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign, have made headlines around the world...
From ACM News
Ocean-Wide Sensor Array Provides New Look at Global Ocean Current
The North Atlantic Ocean is a major driver of the global currents that regulate Earth's climate, mix the oceans and sequester carbon from the atmosphere—but researchers...
From ACM Careers
China Declared World's Largest Producer of Scientific Articles
For the first time, China has overtaken the United States in terms of the total number of science publications, according to statistics compiled by the US National...
From ACM News
Deep Learning Sharpens Views of Cells and Genes
Eyes are said to be the window to the soul—but researchers at Google see them as indicators of a person's health.
From ACM Opinion
How an nderwater Sensor Network Is Tracking Argentina's Lost Submarine
On 15 November, Argentina's Navy lost contact with the ARA San Juan, a small diesel-powered submarine that had been involved in exercises off the east coast of...
From ACM News
AI-Controlled Brain Implants For Mood Disorders Tested in People
Brain implants that deliver electrical pulses tuned to a person's feelings and behaviour are being tested in people for the first time. Two teams funded by the...
From ACM News
The Shape of Work to Come
Last year, entrepreneur Sebastian Thrun set out to augment his sales force with artificial intelligence.
From ACM Opinion
The Scientist Who Spots Fake Videos
Hany Farid, a computer scientist at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, specialises in detecting manipulated images and videos. Farid, who provides his...
From ACM News
Risk of Human-Triggered Earthquakes Laid Out in Biggest-Ever Database
From mining projects to oil and gas operations, human activity has set off earthquakes around the world and in many geological settings.
From ACM News
The Drug-Maker's Guide to the Galaxy
In 2016, the pharmaceutical firm Sunovion gave a group of seasoned employees an unusual assignment.
From ACM News