communications of the acm
Departments

5 Editor’s Letter Technology Has Social Consequences By Moshe Y. Vardi

6 Letters To The Editor Preserve Privacy in Statistical Correlations

9 In the Virtual Extension

10 BLOG@CACM

Stonebraker on Data Warehouses Data warehouses are not only increasing in size and complexity, but also in their importance to business. Michael Stonebraker shares 10 key ideas on the topic.

12 CACM Online

Let ACM Help You Find Your Next Job ‘Online’ By Scott E. Delman

41 Calendar

118 Careers

Last Byte

120 Puzzled

Games, Roles, Turns By Peter Winkler

about the Cover:
Technologies that allow
users to communicate
or control devices by
‘thought’ were once
the stuff of science
fiction. Today, however,
extraordinary strides in
the field of brain-computer
interfaces (BCI) are
very real and having a
huge impact on people
with neuromuscular
disorders and injuries.
This month’s cover
story by Dennis McFarland and Jonathan Wolpaw
(p. 60) explores the science that translates electric
signals produced by the brain into action or words.
Photograph by Justin Stephens.

News

13 Sorting Through Photos

Teaching computers to understand pictures could lead to search engines capable of identifying and organizing large datasets of visual information. By Neil Savage

16 I, Domestic Robot

With recent advances in laser rangefinders, faster algorithms, and open source robotic operating systems, researchers are increasing domestic robots’ semantic and situational awareness.

By Gregory Goth

18 Data Optimization in Developing Nations

Artificial intelligence and machine learning could expand access to health care, improve the quality of education, and respond effectively to natural disasters in the developing world.

By Leah Hoffmann

22 Deus Ex Machina Computational metaphysics is helping philosophers answer age-old questions, such as whether God exists.

By Marina Krakovsky

23 Web Science Meets Network Science A pair of divergent scientific communities discusses their similarities and differences, and search for common ground.

By Alex Wright

Viewpoints

25 Economic and Business Dimensions Online Advertising, Behavioral Targeting, and Privacy

Studying how privacy regulation might impact economic activity on the advertising-supported Internet. By Avi Goldfarb and Catherine E. Tucker

28 Education

Reaching Learners Beyond our Hallowed Halls

Rethinking the design of computer science courses and broadening the definition of computing education both on and off campus. By Brian Dorn

31 Law and Technology

Bell Labs and Centralized Innovation Replaying the long-term costs of monopolized innovation.

By Tim Wu

34 Interview

An Interview with Steve Furber Steve Furber, designer of the seminal BBC Microcomputer System and the widely used ARM microprocessor, reflects on his career.

By Jason Fitzpatrick

40 Viewpoint

The Importance of Reviewing the Code

Highlighting the significance of the often overlooked underlying software used to produce research results.