Computational complexity

Cryptography is the thread that connects Julius Caesar, World War II and quantum computing, and it now lies under nearly every part of modern life. In this week’s episode, computer scientist Boaz Barak and co-host Janna Levin discuss the past and future of secrecy.

Computational complexity theorists have discovered a surprising new way to understand what makes certain problems hard.

Researchers have proved that secure quantum encryption is possible in a world without hard problems.

Researchers have shown how to find the simplest description of a data set faster than by simply checking every possibility.

The prolific researcher found deep connections between randomness and computation and spent a career influencing cryptographers, complexity researchers and more.

Russell Impagliazzo studies hard problems, the limits of cryptography, the nature of randomness and more.

Large language models do better at solving problems when they show their work. Researchers are beginning to understand why.

Researchers have shown that a problem relating to the energy of a quantum system is easy for quantum computers but hard for classical ones.

Integer linear programming can help find the answer to a variety of real-world problems. Now researchers have found a much faster way to do it.