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Latest News News Archive Refine your search:
dateMore Than a Year Ago
subjectComputers And Society
authorThe Washington Post
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An edited collection of advanced computing news from Communications of the ACM, ACM TechNews, other ACM resources, and news sites around the Web.


Amazon Launches Grocery Store with 'Smart' Shopping Carts, Alexa Guides
From ACM TechNews

Amazon Launches Grocery Store with 'Smart' Shopping Carts, Alexa Guides

Amazon on Thursday opened its first Fresh grocery store in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, featuring no checkout lines, smart shopping carts, and...

U.K. Used an Algorithm to Estimate Exam Results; The Calculations Favored Elites
From ACM TechNews

U.K. Used an Algorithm to Estimate Exam Results; The Calculations Favored Elites

The British government has changed its strategy of using an algorithm to estimate how students would have performed on A-level college admissions exams after results...

3D Images From Ultrasounds Allow Blind Parents to Feel Their Infant's Face
From ACM TechNews

3D Images From Ultrasounds Allow Blind Parents to Feel Their Infant's Face

Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore can provide blind parents with three-dimensional models of their baby's face so they can "see" them before they are born,

Tech to Contain Coronavirus on College Campuses Sparks Fresh Privacy Concerns
From ACM TechNews

Tech to Contain Coronavirus on College Campuses Sparks Fresh Privacy Concerns

U.S. colleges are racing to contain the Covid-19 pandemic with technology including contact-tracing applications and facial recognition, prompting concerns about...

No Masks, No Coughs: Robots Can Be Just What the Doctor Ordered in Time of Social Distancing
From ACM TechNews

No Masks, No Coughs: Robots Can Be Just What the Doctor Ordered in Time of Social Distancing

In Japan, a country with a long fascination with robots, automated assistants have become bartenders, security guards, deliverymen, and more, since the onset of...

Virtual Try-Ons Replacing Fitting Rooms During the Pandemic
From ACM TechNews

Virtual Try-Ons Replacing Fitting Rooms During the Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has spurred consumers to substitute fitting rooms with augmented reality using their smartphones and computers.

Study Reveals Extent of Hate Speech on Reddit in Right-Leaning Forums
From ACM TechNews

Study Reveals Extent of Hate Speech on Reddit in Right-Leaning Forums

A new study found that more comment moderation is necessary to curtail racist and white supremacist content on Reddit.

Elite CIA Unit that Developed Hacking Tools Failed to Secure its Own Systems, Allowing Massive Leak
From ACM News

Elite CIA Unit that Developed Hacking Tools Failed to Secure its Own Systems, Allowing Massive Leak

The breach came nearly three years after Edward Snowden stole and disclosed classified information about NSA surveillance operations.

NYU Report Calls On Social Media Titans to Stop Outsourcing Content Moderation
From ACM TechNews

NYU Report Calls On Social Media Titans to Stop Outsourcing Content Moderation

A New York University report urges social media companies to stop outsourcing the moderation of their content.

NYU Report Calls on Social Media Titans to Stop Outsourcing Content Moderation
From ACM News

NYU Report Calls on Social Media Titans to Stop Outsourcing Content Moderation

The report says big social media companies need to use more of their own employees to make calls about which posts and photos should be removed.

Coronavirus Has Upended Election Security Training with Just Months Before November
From ACM TechNews

Coronavirus Has Upended Election Security Training with Just Months Before November

The University of Southern California Election Security Initiative is scrambling to virtually train campaign and election officials across the U.S. before the November...

Companies' Use of Thermal Cameras to Speed Return to Work Sparks Worries About Civil Liberties
From ACM TechNews

Companies' Use of Thermal Cameras to Speed Return to Work Sparks Worries About Civil Liberties

Thermal imaging may be used to identify those suspected of having the coronavirus, but civil liberties experts warn such systems will monitor some who may not know...

U.K. Parliament Votes to Continue Democracy by Zoom
From ACM TechNews

U.K. Parliament Votes to Continue Democracy by Zoom

U.K. lawmakers on Tuesday unanimously voted to hold a "virtual Parliament" to maintain the machinery of democracy via the Zoom videoconferencing platform.

Silicon Valley is Racing to Build the Next Version of the Internet. Fortnite Might Get There First.
From ACM News

Silicon Valley is Racing to Build the Next Version of the Internet. Fortnite Might Get There First.

In recent years, there's been serious talk about how to build the Metaverse, the next version of the Internet, and who will build it first.

With Coronavirus Closing Schools, Here's How Video Games are Helping Teachers
From ACM TechNews

With Coronavirus Closing Schools, Here's How Video Games are Helping Teachers

The quarantine caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted teachers to utilize popular video games to conduct lessons on a range of topics.

Your Internet is Working. Thank These Cold War-era Pioneers who Designed it to Handle Almost Anything
From ACM News

Your Internet is Working. Thank These Cold War-era Pioneers who Designed it to Handle Almost Anything

Coronavirus may have forced people to stay at home, but the Internet these scientists envisioned long ago is keeping the world connected.

State, Local Governments Ask Technologists to Aid Coronavirus Response
From ACM TechNews

State, Local Governments Ask Technologists to Aid Coronavirus Response

With digital services swamped by the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. state and local governments are asking technologists to volunteer to assist with response strategies...

Facebook Sent Home Thousands of Human Moderators Due to the Coronavirus. Now the Algorithms Are in Charge
From ACM TechNews

Facebook Sent Home Thousands of Human Moderators Due to the Coronavirus. Now the Algorithms Are in Charge

Facebook has placed its army of human moderators on paid leave, forcing the company to police disinformation without them.

Facebook, Twitter Suspend Russian-Linked Operation Targeting African Americans on Social Media
From ACM TechNews

Facebook, Twitter Suspend Russian-Linked Operation Targeting African Americans on Social Media

Facebook and Twitter suspended a Russian-linked campaign designed to inflame racial tensions among African Americans in the U.S.

3D-Printed Homes: A Concept is Turning Into Something Solid
From ACM TechNews

3D-Printed Homes: A Concept is Turning Into Something Solid

New three-dimensionally (3D)-printed homes are taking shape at the Community First Village affordable housing development in Austin, TX.
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