July 2018 - Vol. 61 No. 7

Features

Opinion From the President Jul 1 2018

I see ACM as a continual 'work in progress' as computing and our community evolves. In the future, I believe ACM will need to constantly reassess priorities and activities to ensure we remain vital to the global computing community.

Vicki L. Hanson

Computing Profession

Opinion Cerf's up Jul 1 2018

On Neural Networks

Many applications are surfacing for neural network systems, including reliable identification of diseases (for example, diabetic retinopathy, cancerous cells), situational awareness for self-driving cars, and a raft of other hard recognition and optimization problems.

Vinton G. Cerf

Architecture and Hardware

Opinion Vardi's insights Jul 1 2018

How the Hippies Destroyed the Internet

Communism is the most famous 20th-century attempt to build market-free economies. It required coercion on a colossal scale. The Internet is the second major attempt to build a market-free economy, limited to information.

Moshe Y. Vardi

Computing Applications

Opinion Letters to the editor Jul 1 2018

Teach the Law (and the AI) ‘Foreseeability’

AI is a sort of idiot savant that can be unpredictably, and potentially, dangerously literal.

CACM Staff

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

BLOG@CACM Jul 1 2018

We Are Done With ‘Hacking’

Today's programmers offer more valuable skills than simply being able to hack algorithms and make data structures, says Yegor Bugayenko.

Yegor Bugayenko

Computing Applications

News Jul 1 2018

Why Cryptocurrencies Use So Much Energy

The electricity consumption of mining for cryptocurrencies is becoming a real concern. Here's what to do about it.

Logan Kugler

Architecture and Hardware

Why Cryptocurrencies Use So Much Energy, illustration

News Jul 1 2018

You’ve Got Mail!

And that's not all. Email is not what it used to be.

Gary Anthes

Computing Applications

News Jul 1 2018

Bringing the Internet to the (Developing) World

A growing number of low-cost (and free!) solutions aim to open the Internet to developing regions.

Keith Kirkpatrick

Architecture and Hardware

Opinion Legally speaking Jul 1 2018

An evolving technological landscape has made application of copyright law increasingly difficult.

Pamela Samuelson

Computing Profession

Copyright Blocks a News-Monitoring Technology, illustration

Opinion Economic and business dimensions Jul 1 2018

Blockchain Revolution Without the Blockchain?

Most of the suggested benefits of blockchain technologies do not come from elements unique to the blockchain.

Hanna Halaburda

Computing Applications

Blockchain Revolution without the Blockchain? illustration

Opinion Broadening participation Jul 1 2018

Beyond Diversity

Considering the confluence of research questions and sociopolitical dynamics.

Alex Ahmed

Computing Profession

Opinion Viewpoint Jul 1 2018

A New Perspective on Computational Thinking

Addressing its cognitive essence, universal value, and curricular practices.

Osman Yaşar

Computing Profession

A New Perspective on Computational Thinking

Opinion Viewpoint Jul 1 2018

The Case for Disappearing Cyber Security

A proposal for keeping cyber security both out of sight and out of mind for end users.

Josiah Dykstra and Eugene H. Spafford

Computing Profession

The Case for Disappearing Cyber Security, illustration

Practice Jul 1 2018

C Is Not a Low-Level Language

Your computer is not a fast PDP-11.

David Chisnall

Architecture and Hardware

C Is Not a Low-Level Language, illustration

Practice Jul 1 2018

How to Come Up with Great Ideas

Think like an entrepreneur.

Kate Matsudaira

Computing Profession

How to Come Up with Great Ideas, illustration

Practice Jul 1 2018

Research for Practice: Toward a Network of Connected Things

Expert-curated guides to the best of CS research.

Deepak Vasisht and Peter Bailis

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Contributed articles Jul 1 2018

Making Machine Learning Robust Against Adversarial Inputs

Such inputs distort how machine-learning-based systems are able to function in the world as it is.

Ian Goodfellow, Patrick McDaniel, and Nicolas Papernot

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Making Machine Learning Robust Against Adversarial Inputs, illustration

Research and Advances Contributed articles Jul 1 2018

Digital Nudging: Guiding Online User Choices through Interface Design

Designers can create designs that nudge users toward the most desirable option.

Christoph Schneider, Markus Weinmann, and Jan vom Brocke

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Contributed articles Jul 1 2018

Always Measure One Level Deeper

Performance measurements often go wrong, reporting surface-level results that are more marketing than science.

John Ousterhout

Computing Applications

Always Measure One Level Deeper, illustration

Research and Advances Review articles Jul 1 2018

The ABCs of Effectiveness in The Digital Society

Digital effectiveness is not the same as mastering the ICTs, rather it is the art of using them in a purposeful, healthy way.

Carlo Gabriel Porto Bellini

Computing Applications

The ABCs of Effectiveness in the Digital Society, illustration

Research and Advances Research highlights Jul 1 2018

Technical Perspective: The Rewards of Selfish Mining

"Majority Is Not Enough: Bitcoin Mining Is Vulnerable," by Eyal and Sirer, questions the 2009 Bitcoin white paper's implicit assumption of perfect information—that all miners have the same view of the blockchain.

Sharon Goldberg and Ethan Heilman

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Research highlights Jul 1 2018

Majority Is Not Enough: Bitcoin Mining Is Vulnerable

We propose a practical modification to the Bitcoin protocol that protects Bitcoin in the general case.

Ittay Eyal and Emin GÜn Sirer

Computing Applications

Opinion Last byte Jul 1 2018

String Wars

Suppose someone gives you two strings: X and Y. Your goal is . . .

Dennis Shasha

Systems and Networking

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