Membership in ACM includes a subscription to Communications of the ACM (CACM), the computing industry's most trusted source for staying connected to the world of advanced computing. Once artificial intelligence is added to augmented and virtual reality devices, it could take the technology mainstream. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has spent billions of dollars year after year to develop augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies, without much financial return to show for it. The company has spent north of $80 billion since 2014 on the technologies since acquiring Oculus, a VR hardware startup, including $20 billion in 2024 alone. In that time, it has lost billions on AR/VR, with products like its Quest headset consistently operating at a loss.

Meta has big plans for the future. And they all involve extracting even more data from consumers. Last week, the company released a positioning statement emphasizing a bold, tech-driven vision for its metaverse ambitions: smarter personal assistants, a fully immersive AR/VR experience, universal language translation, self-supervised machine learning, human-like AI, etc. All of this comes with the expressed goal of providing advertisers with richer behavioral data about consumers and reassurances that Meta will accomplish all of this in an ethically sound fashion. However, Meta's route forward may contain more roadblocks than the company is anticipating.

When fantasies and Innovative technologies mix and gel together, the result would always be a magic to witness. Yes, Google has always been leading in bringing a lot of inventions that not only give us a wow factor but also make our day-today activities much easier. One such invention is PROJECT SOLI. It's a futuristic interface that will forever change the way we use all the technological devices, and not just wearable. A smartphone or a device with a Soli Chip would allow you to just wave your fingers in the air to naturally interact and get things done. What is Project Soli? Soli is a creation of Google's research and development lab, ATAP (Advanced Technology and Projects). Project Soli has a millimetre-wave radar chip that can detect "very fine" gestures with your fingers and hands in front of your phone – without touching it. It can then be used for anything from games to web browsing using hand gestures on mobile devices, computers, and electronics. Project Soli is having

As we begin 2020 with new excitement and vigor, it's also the time to plan ahead and look at what the year has in store for us for corporate Learning and Development (L&D). With workplace learning trends embracing technology on a larger scale, one thing we can say for certain is that emerging technologies are transforming the world of work, and businesses need to rethink their approach toward L&D and employee training. One of the key shifts observed in 2019 and going into 2020 is learning in-the-flow of work, which only makes more and more sense as we live our connected lives in this connected world. Meanwhile, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping how organizations do business, engage with clients and customers, and manage their operations. As a result, an increasing number of organizations are now depending on emerging technologies to gain the desired competitive advantage.

Climate action is the latest buzzword among industry circles since the many International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports and the recent UN Climate Summit in New York City. Greta Thunberg grabbed the headlines, but industrialists are all wondering: How can we move swiftly and effectively to reduce carbon emissions? How can we use AI and other exponential technologies to do the job better, faster and cheaper? As a business strategist and urban planner, I advise companies to focus on cities since they consume 80% of energy and emit 70% of carbon, so we'll win or lose the carbon battle in the cities. Fortunately, cities can move faster than national governments and, as energy buyers, they can directly negotiate energy types and pricing, giving them enormous economic clout.

CompTIA's Emerging Technology Community (ETC), for the second year, has compiled its Top 10 Emerging Technologies list of those technologies most likely to generate immediate opportunities for partners and those working in the business of technology. Once again, the internet of things snagged the No. 1 spot. The Top 10 emerging technologies are: IoT, AI, 5G, serverless computing, blockchain, robotics, biometrics, 3-D printing, virtual reality/augmented reality (VR/AR) and drones. A cursory comparison of the 2019 and 2018 Top 10 lists indicates a shuffling in the ranks of artificial intelligence, 5G, blockchain, biometrics, virtual reality/augmented technology and drones; some new entrants such as serverless computing and robotics; and the disappearance of others, such as automation and quantum computing. "We saw the internet of things as continuing to be not only the biggest opportunity, but a lot of near-term opportunity," Michael Haines, chair of the Emerging Technology Community, and director of worldwide partner incentive strategy at Microsoft, told Channel Futures.

Keeping a cool head and discerning what's beneficial and what is not are indispensable considerations to avoid a fiasco Today the role of the CIO is perceived as a strategic business position, tasked with driving change and transformation within their organisation instead of exclusively focusing on IT operations. It's one of the most dynamic executive roles which requires constant development and adaptation to digital ecosystems, business model innovations, technology demands and stakeholders' expectations. Adapting to tight budgets and focusing on internal operations are now just part of a long list of duties expected from a CIO. Driving business operations and leading innovation and transformation are regarded as extremely desired skills. In an interview with our sister title CIO UK, SThree CIO Lance Fisher explained the change in nature of his job: "I split IT into two. You have to learn and understand the business and its competitive advantage, understand how your competitors run their businesses and then look to deliver competitive advantage. I firmly believe as a CIO you are the glue. You need to connect IT to the business, vendors and your clients."

New research proves that eyes might in fact be windows to the soul. Over the past few years, eye tracking technology has emerged as a field of much academic and corporate interest. With major acquisitions by Apple (SMI) and Oculus (The Eye Tribe), it's clear that major international companies regard eye tracking technology as an vital facet of Industry 4.0 -- particularly in its integration with virtual and augmented reality technologies (VR/AR), which involve persistent interaction with the human eye. In the study, researchers tracked 42 participants' eye movements while going about their day on a university campus, and matrixed these findings against user questionnaires. The results assert that machine learning can in fact deduce important personality traits with appropriate datasets -- with the algorithm reliably identifying four of the "Big Five" human personality traits: agreeableness, conscientiousness, extroversion, and neuroticism. In a statement from UniSA, Senior Lecturer of Psychology Dr. Tobias Loetscher explained that this research establishes a meaningful link between our eye motions and our innate and learned characteristics: People are always looking for improved, personalised [sic] services.

Amid a wave of hype around emerging technologies three specific trends are showing the potential to help businesses transform the way they operate, according to a series of research briefs published by CompTIA. To varying degrees, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and virtual reality (VR) / augmented reality (AR) are staking out a more prominent role in the digital operations of organisations, the publications reveal. "Though the majority of businesses are still on the side lines, use cases for each of these solutions are beginning to emerge," said Seth Robinson, senior director, technology analysis, CompTIA. "When you consider that these are not standalone products that you plug in and play, but building blocks to automate, digitise or streamline operations, the impacts they are already having illustrate their potential." CompTIA surveyed some 700 business professionals at U.S. companies to gauge their awareness and usage of AI, blockchain and VR/AR.

Regular reality is being disrupted by virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR). The biggest names in tech are battling to power the next generation of entertainment, education, and communication. Facebook acquired Oculus to make next generation social networking virtual. Apple CEO Tim Cook claims augmented reality will be "as big as the iPhone." Microsoft's HoloLens, Google's Tango, and Intel's Project Alloy are just a few of the myriad of developments underway to make VR/AR devices as ubiquitous as computers and phones.