COMMUNICATIONS OF THE ACM
P
H
O
T
O
B
Y
R
Y
A
N
N
E
E
LY
/
U
C
B
E
R
K
E
L
E
Y
;
I
M
A
G
E
B
Y
A
L
I
C
I
A
K
U
B
I
S
T
A
/
A
N
D
R
I
J
B
O
R
Y
S
A
S
S
O
C
I
A
T
E
S
Viewpoints
22 Global Computing
Online Social Networks and Global
Women’s Empowerment
Mediating social change or
reinforcing male hegemony?
By Ineke Buskens
24 Kode Vicious
The Chess Player Who Couldn’t
Pass the Salt
AI: Soft and hard, weak and strong,
narrow and general.
By George V. Neville-Neil
26 Viewpoint
Wanted: Toolsmiths
Seeking to use software,
hardware, and algorithmic
ingenuity to create unique
domain-independent instruments.
By William Regli
29 Viewpoint
What It Means to Be
an Entrepreneur Today
In his keynote address before the
fifth edition of the Tech Open Air
conference in Berlin in 2016,
Kickstarter’s cofounder and
CEO Yancey Strickler suggests
the city’s tech community faces
“a very rare opportunity.”
By Yancey Strickler
Departments
5 From the ACM-W Chair
Gender Diversity in Computing:
Are We Making Any Progress?
By Valerie Barr
7 Cerf’s Up
A Genetic Theory of
the Silicon Valley Phenomenon
By Vinton G. Cerf
8 Letters to the Editor
Consider Indirect Threats of AI, Too
10 BLOG@CACM
Crafting a National Cyberdefense,
and Preparing to Support
Computational Literacy
John Arquilla considers how
we should interpret the alleged
Russian cyberattack on the U.S.
Presidential election; Mark Guzdial
describes the potential benefits
of a ‘computing lab.’
25 Calendar
95 Careers
Last Byte
96 Upstart Puzzles
Stacking the Deck
By Dennis Shasha
News
12 Sensors on the Brain
Implantable wireless monitors
give researchers a new look inside
the human body.
By Gregory Mone
15 Digitizing the World
Digital maps trawl for
real-time updates.
By Chris Edwards
17 Computing the Arts
Artists can use software to create art,
and some software creates art all
on its own.
By Esther Shein
20 ACM Panels in Print
Cybersecurity
12
22