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Scott Aaronson — Quantumania (EP.240)

Infinite Loops

Release Date: 10/31/2024

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My guest today is Scott Aaronson, a theoretical computer scientist, OG blogger, and quantum computing maestro.

Scott has so many achievements and credentials that listing them here would take longer than recording the episode. Here's a select few:

  • Self-taught programmer at age 11, Cornell computer science student at 15, PhD recipient by 22!
  • Schlumberger Centennial Chair of Computer Science at The University of Texas at Austin.
  • Director of UT Austin's Quantum Information Center.
  • Former visiting researcher on OpenAI's alignment team (2022-2024).
  • Awarded the ACM prize in computing in 2020 and the Tomassoni-Chisesi Prize in Physics (under 40 category) in 2018.

… you get the point.

Scott and I dig into the misunderstood world of quantum computing — the hopes, the hindrances, and the hucksters — to unpack what a quantum-empowered future could really look like. We also discuss what makes humans special in the age of AI, the stubbornly persistent errors of the seat-to-keyboard interface, and MUCH more.

I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did. For the full transcript, some highlights from Scott’s blog, and bucketloads of other goodies designed to make you go, “Hmm, that’s interesting!” check out our Substack.

Important Links:

Show Notes:

  • So much reading. So little time.
  • The problem of human specialness in the age of AI
  • It’s always the same quantum weirdness
  • Why it’s easy to be a quantum huckster
  • Quantum progress, quantum hopes, and quantum limits
  • Encryption in a quantum empowered world
  • Wielding the hammer of interference
  • Scientific discovery in a quantum empowered world
  • Bureaucracy and blank faces
  • Scott as Emperor of the World
  • MORE!

Books Mentioned:

  • The Fifth Science; by ****Exurb1a
  • The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy; by Douglas Adams