Computer science

Alexei Efros has spent his career learning how machines see differently from humans. Now he’s helping to bridge the gap.

What makes a quantum computer more powerful than a classical computer? It’s a surprisingly subtle question that physicists are still grappling with, decades into the quantum age.

Shor’s algorithm will enable future quantum computers to factor large numbers quickly, undermining many online security protocols. Now a researcher has shown how to do it even faster.

Mathematical logic and the code of computer programs are, in an exact way, mirror images of each other.

To better understand how neural networks learn to simulate writing, researchers trained simpler versions on synthetic children’s stories.

Some modern image generators rely on the principles of diffusion to create images. Alternatives based on the process behind the distribution of charged particles may yield even better results.

By using “classical shadows,” ordinary computers can beat quantum computers at the tricky task of understanding quantum behaviors.

Mathematical proofs based on a technique called diagonalization can be relentlessly contrarian, but they help reveal the limits of algorithms.

Number theorist Andrew Granville on what mathematics really is — and why objectivity is never quite within reach.