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 TechNews
Why a Hacker Is Giving Away a Special Code That Turns Cars Into Self-Driving Machines
The founder of startup Comma.ai has released a free software kit in an effort to accelerate autonomous vehicle technology without running afoul of regulators.
From ACM News
Erich Bloch, IBM Pioneer Who Later Led National Science Foundation, Dies at 91
Bloch was the first U.S. National Science Foundation director to come from a business rather than academic background, and the first without a doctoral degree. ...
From ACM Opinion
Nate Silver Blew It When He Missed Trump. Now He Really Needs to Get It Right.
Nate Silver is on the downtown 1 train. Possibly because he looks like a (modestly) hip math teacher, and hardly looks up from his phone, he goes unrecognized until...
From ACM TechNews
Will Driverless Cars Really Save Millions of Lives? Lack of Data Makes It Hard to Know
The lack of data on how driverless automobiles' performance compares with human drivers makes it difficult to determine the safety benefits of autonomous vehicles...
From ACM TechNews
Federal Officials Plan Aggressive Approach to Driverless Cars
U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx on Monday announced plans to aggressively influence the launch of driverless car technology.
From ACM TechNews
How America's 911 Emergency Response System Can Be Hacked
Researchers at Israel's Ben Gurion University have created a method for disabling the U.S. 911 emergency system with telephony denial-of-service attacks.
From ACM News
The Science of Smartphone Batteries and How to Keep Them Charged
Whenever a new iPhone gets announced, there's one feature that every Apple lover is hoping for: improved battery life.
From ACM News
The Bizarre World of Bitcoin 'mining' Finds a New Home in Tibet
Inside a metal shed in the Tibetan highlands of western China, thousands of microprocessors flank narrow corridors, generating a constant hum and stifling waves...
From ACM Opinion
Here's How Russian Hackers Could Actually Tip an American Election
Reports this week of Russian intrusions into U.S. election systems have startled many voters, but computer experts are not surprised.
From ACM News
Putting a Computer in Your Brain Is No Longer Science Fiction
Like many in Silicon Valley, technology entrepreneur Bryan Johnson sees a future in which intelligent machines can do things like drive cars on their own and anticipate...
From ACM Opinion
Tim Cook: Running Apple 'is Sort of a Lonely Job'
On a sleek white coffee table in Apple CEO Tim Cook's fourth-floor office in late July, beneath framed posters of Robert F. Kennedy, the Rev. Martin Luther King...
From ACM TechNews
Computer Hackers Don't Stand a Chance Against These Girls
The GenCyber program consists of 119 summer camps for girls sponsored by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) and the National Academy of Sciences.
From ACM News
How Artificial Intelligence Could Help Warn S of Another Dallas
As the country reels from the spasm of gun violence that killed two black men and five police officers this week, a prominent digital vigilante is using an online...
From ACM TechNews
This Robot Follows You Around and Blasts You With Air Conditioning
More efficient air conditioning via a mobile robot is a goal of researchers at the University of Maryland's Center for Environmental Energy Engineering.
From ACM TechNews
More Than 30 States Offer Online Voting, but Experts Warn It Isn't Secure
More than 30 states will be hosting online voting systems by the time of the U.S. presidential election in November, but experts warn such systems are still insecure...
From ACM Opinion
This Top Scientist Offers a Solution For the Havoc Driverless Cars May Wreck on Workers
Proponents of autonomous vehicles are in a sticky situation.
From ACM News
This May Be the Best Way to Measure Gun Violence in America
In Canton, Ohio, one of the most common complaints that police chief Bruce Lawver hears is about gunfire. Shots fired. That unnerving pop of a firearm being discharged...
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Explain How Stereotypes Keep Girls Out of Computer Science Classes
Educators need to start earlier and set a strong foundation to resolve the gender gap in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields.
From ACM News
The Tremendous Ambitions Behind New York City's Free Wifi
At this very moment in New York City, you can walk up to one of 65 futuristic kiosks, punch in an email address on your phone and instantly receive a wireless Internet...
From ACM TechNews