The proposed changes to the ACM Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, as discussed by Don Gotterbarn et al. in "ACM Code of Ethics: A Guide for Positive Action"1 (Digital Edition, Jan. 2018), are generally misguided and should be rejected by the ACM membership. The changes attempt to, for example, create real obligations on members to enforce hiring quotas/priorities with debatable efficacy while ACM members are neither HR specialists nor psychologists; create "safe spaces for all people," a counterproductive concept causing problems in a number of universities; counter harassment while not being lawyers or police officers; enforce privacy while not being lawyers; ensure "the public good" while not being elected leaders; encourage acceptance of "social responsibilities" while not defining them or being elected leaders or those charged with implementing government policy; and monitor computer systems integrated into society for "fair access" while not being lawyers or part of the C-suite. ACM is a computing society, not a society of activists for social justice, community organizers, lawyers, police officers, or MBAs. The proposed changes add nothing related specifically to computing and far too much related to these other fields, and also fail to address, in any significant new way, probably the greatest ethical hole in computing today--security and hacking. If the proposed revised Code is ever submitted to a vote by the membership, I will be voting against it and urge other members to do so as well.

We explored that topic this week with Rafael Reif, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, following the announcement of the MIT Intelligence Quest, an effort to "discover the foundations of human intelligence" to develop better technology, especially artificial intelligence. Reif has been MIT's president since 2012. An electrical engineer by training, he has been outspoken in his defense of funding for basic scientific research. He was in Seattle this week to talk with alumni about MIT's plans for the future of education, research, and innovation. We spoke about all of those topics, plus diversity in the tech industry and Boston's bid for Amazon HQ2, on this episode of the GeekWire Podcast. Listen to our full conversation in the player below, and continue reading for edited excerpts. Subscribe to the GeekWire Podcast on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen.

Computer Science and Engineering Professor Robin Murphy of Texas A&M University has taken a serious look at the robots of Star Wars fame and judges how realistic they are in a recent Science Robotics Focus piece--in it, she suggests some aspects of the robots are more realistic than others. Murphy focuses on CP30, the gold, humanoid robot with a British accent, his partner, R2D2 and the cute robot BB-8. Notably, only one of the three is able to talk, and has appendages that resemble human arms and legs. She discusses the possibility of developing such robots and how well they might work. She also compares them to a real-life space robot--NASA's Robonaut, a humanoid robot with arms and end effectors, but no legs.

US military says drone strike in Somalia kills 4 al-Shabab extremists; 5th strike this year.

The Monroe News reports the Michigan Department of Transportation and the village of Dundee are monitoring the Michigan highway 50 bridge over the river as the water rises. A flood warning is in effect for Dundee, Blissfield and other area communities.

It's called the "grain," a small IoT device implanted into the back of people's skulls to record their memories. Human experiences are simply played back on "redo mode" using a smart button remote. The technology promises to reduce crime, terrorism and simplify human relationships with greater transparency. While this is a description of Netflix's Black Mirror episode, "The Entire History of You," in reality the concept is not as far-fetched as it may seem. This week life came closer to imitating art with the $19 million grant by the US Department of Defense to a group of six universities to begin work on "neurograins."

As was also clearly stated by Vladimir Putin on September 4, 2017: "whichever country leads the way in Artificial Intelligence research will be the ruler of the world".

Cyber criminals continue to launch increasingly sophisticated and devastating attacks on industrial, business and financial organisations around the world – and the damage from such crime could reach $6tn by 2021, according to a report from Cybersecurity Ventures. Join us as we take a look at the different approaches you can take in order to bolster your web security. We find out how to identify and address overlooked web security vulnerabilities, how security controls affect web security assessment results and why web opportunities must be met with appropriate security controls. You forgot to provide an Email Address. This email address doesn't appear to be valid.

MOGADISHU, Somalia – The United States military for the second straight day is announcing a drone strike that killed al-Shabab extremists in Somalia. The U.S. Africa Command says the strike on Wednesday killed four "terrorists" near Jamaame in Lower Juba region in the south. The statement says the U.S. assesses no civilians were killed. The U.S. on Wednesday said a drone strike killed three al-Shabab extremists near Jilib town in Middle Juba region earlier this week. This latest U.S. drone strike is the fifth this year in Somalia.