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Facebook's Ad Scandal Isn't a 'fail,' It's a Feature
From ACM Opinion

Facebook's Ad Scandal Isn't a 'fail,' It's a Feature

What does it take to advertise on Facebook to people who openly call themselves "Jew haters" and want to know "how to burn Jews"? About $10 and 15 minutes, according...

Google, Not the Government, Is Building the Future
From ACM Opinion

Google, Not the Government, Is Building the Future

One persistent criticism of Silicon Valley is that it no longer works on big, world-changing ideas.

Are Teenagers Replacing Drugs With Smartphones?
From ACM Opinion

Are Teenagers Replacing Drugs With Smartphones?

Amid an opioid epidemic, the rise of deadly synthetic drugs and the widening legalization of marijuana, a curious bright spot has emerged in the youth drug culture...

He Helped Create the 'google Brain.' Here's What He Thinks About AI Now
From ACM Opinion

He Helped Create the 'google Brain.' Here's What He Thinks About AI Now

Trucks that can drive themselves along delivery routes. Computers capable of defeating world champions in a notoriously complex game. Apps that can translate sentences...

A.i. Inspiration: The Science Fiction That Frames Discussion
From ACM Opinion

A.i. Inspiration: The Science Fiction That Frames Discussion

Science fiction comes up often in serious discussions about artificial intelligence and weapons.

The Problem With Google's 'star Trek' Computer
From ACM Opinion

The Problem With Google's 'star Trek' Computer

Google is hoping to develop its Assistant, a Siri-like technology to be included on the company's new smartphones and other products, into something like the computer...

My 10 Favorite Books: Bill Gates
From ACM Opinion

My 10 Favorite Books: Bill Gates

"Seveneves," Neal Stephenson: This novel about how the human race responds to the end of life on Earth rekindled my love for sci-fi. Some readers will lose patience...

Doom Is a Gleefully Gory Ballet Set in a Nightmare
From ACM Opinion

Doom Is a Gleefully Gory Ballet Set in a Nightmare

My instinct upon leaping into id Software's hyper-gruesome Doom, a gonzo shooter out May 13 for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, is to dawdle.

Have Comment Sections on News Media Websites Failed?
From ACM Opinion

Have Comment Sections on News Media Websites Failed?

Many newspapers and online media companies have begun disabling comment sections because of widespread abuse and obscenity.

Where Computers Defeat Humans, and Where They Can't
From ACM Opinion

Where Computers Defeat Humans, and Where They Can't

ALPHAGO, the artificial intelligence system built by the Google subsidiary DeepMind, has just defeated the human champion, Lee Se-dol, four games to one in the...

A Plan in Case Robots Take the Jobs: Give Everyone a Paycheck
From ACM Opinion

A Plan in Case Robots Take the Jobs: Give Everyone a Paycheck

Let's say computers come for most of our jobs. This may not seem likely at the moment; computer scientists and economists offer wildly varying ideas for how deeply...

Eric Schmidt on How to Build a Better Web
From ACM Opinion

Eric Schmidt on How to Build a Better Web

Turning Point: The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria declares a war on Twitter.

Stop Googling. Let’s Talk.
From ACM Opinion

Stop Googling. Let’s Talk.

College students tell me they know how to look someone in the eye and type on their phones at the same time, their split attention undetected.

With Google as Alphabet, a Bid to Dream Big Beyond Search
From ACM Opinion

With Google as Alphabet, a Bid to Dream Big Beyond Search

Shortly after its founding, Google posted a document on its site called "Ten things we know to be true," an effort to distill its unusual corporate culture into...

We Are Data: The Future of Machine Intelligence
From ACM Opinion

We Are Data: The Future of Machine Intelligence

I look at apps like Grindr and Tinder and see how they’ve rewritten sex culture—by creating a sexual landscape filled with vast amounts of incredibly graphic site...

Behind the Downfall at Blackberry
From ACM Opinion

Behind the Downfall at Blackberry

Ever since Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis stepped down as co-chairmen and co-chief executives of BlackBerry, neither has spoken much in public about the once-dominant...

40 Busy Years Later, a Microsoft Founder Considers His Creation
From ACM Opinion

40 Busy Years Later, a Microsoft Founder Considers His Creation

Looking at Microsoft’s sprawling product line and 118,000 or so employees, it’s easy to forget that the company started with one modest product made by two ambitious...

Karen, an App That Knows You All Too Well
From ACM Opinion

Karen, an App That Knows You All Too Well

Thinking about a life coach but not ready to commit to the real thing?

The Math of March Madness
From ACM Opinion

The Math of March Madness

The N.C.A.A. men's basketball tournament started Thursday, but for most Americans the real action began days before, as they pored over brackets, competing to make...

Astro Teller, Google's ‘captain of Moonshots,' on Making Profits at Google X
From ACM Opinion

Astro Teller, Google's ‘captain of Moonshots,' on Making Profits at Google X

Google is all over the place.
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