269 - Scott Aaronson: What Is Quantum Computing?
From Robinson's Podcast by Robinson Erhardt
February 1, 2026 · 1h 25m · Episode 269
About this episode
Scott Aaronson discusses the basics of quantum computing and its implications.
Scott Aaronson is the Schlumberger Centennial Chair of Computer Science at The University of Texas at Austin, and director of its Quantum Information Center. He researches the capabilities and limits of quantum computers, and computational complexity theory more generally. For the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 academic years, he was on leave to work at OpenAI on the theoretical foundations of AI safety. In this episode of Robinson’s Podcast, Scott answers a host of questions about the basics of quantum computing. He and Robinson discuss the physics- and computer science elements of the field, how it connects to the foundations of quantum mechanics, the biggest myths about quantum computing, and whether quantum computers will every actually be built. Scott’s Blog: https://scottaaronson.blog OUTLINE 00:00 Scott’s Interest in Quantum Computing 07:10 Distinguishing the Physics from the Computer Science 14:43 What Is Quantum Computation? 39:41 The Interpretations of Quantum Mechanics 53:31 Quantum Information 55:54 Prime Factorization 01:03:19 The Biggest Myths About Quantum Computing 01:14:06 Can Quantum Computers Actually Be Built? Robinson’s Website: http://robinsonerhardt.com Robinson…
People in this episode
Host: Robinson Erhardt
Guest: Scott Aaronson
Topics covered
- quantum computing
- computer science
- quantum mechanics
- AI safety
- computational complexity
Keywords
- quantum computing
- AI safety
- quantum mechanics
- computational complexity
- myths about quantum computing
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: The University of Texas at Austin, OpenAI, Stanford University
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