#15 - Scott Aaronson: quantum computing, AI and AGI progress
From Salvador Podcast by Salvador Duarte
August 16, 2025 · 1h 7m
About this episode
Scott Aaronson discusses the realities and future of quantum computing, AI, and their convergence.
Scott Aaronson is a theoretical computer scientist at the University of Texas at Austin, known for his pioneering work on quantum computing and computational complexity. He writes the widely read blog Shtetl-Optimized and has shaped how researchers and the public understand both the possibilities and limits of quantum technology. We talk about the reality of quantum computing, cryptography, AI progress, large language models, and what the future might look like when these technologies converge. Topics are outlined in the timestamps below. Watch on YouTube . Listen on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or wherever you get your podcasts. Support my work here and follow me on Twitter here Timestamps 00:00 – Intro 03:25 – How computer science views quantum mechanics today 06:50 – Superconducting qubits and how quantum machines are built 10:15 – The rules of quantum probability explained 13:41 – Quantum error correction and protecting fragile states 17:06 – When quantum algorithms provide a speed-up (and when they don’t) 20:31 – Skepticism and testing the limits of quantum hype 23:56 – Why Scott is optimistic about scalable quantum computing 27:22 – Potential applications: materials…
People in this episode
Host: Salvador Duarte
Guest: Scott Aaronson
Topics covered
- quantum computing
- AI progress
- cryptography
- computational complexity
- large language models
- technology convergence
Keywords
- quantum computing
- AI
- cryptography
- large language models
- quantum algorithms
- computational complexity
- quantum error correction
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: University of Texas at Austin
Books & works: Shtetl-Optimized
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