In algorithms, as in life, negativity can be a drag. Consider the problem of finding the shortest path between two points on a graph — a network of nodes connected by links, or edges. Often, these ...

People have performed many mathematical proofs to show that a quantum computer will vastly outperform traditional computers on a number of algorithms. But the quantum ...

The library sorting problem is used across computer science for organizing far more than just books. A new solution is less than a page-width away from the theoretical ideal. Computer scientists often ...

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. One July afternoon in 2024, Ryan Williams set out to prove himself wrong. Two months had passed since he’d hit upon a startling ...

Joy Buolamwini is a computer scientist with a PhD in philosophy from MIT's Media Lab. She uses art and research to illuminate the social implications of artificial intelligence. She founded the ...

Formulate sequential decision-making problems as deterministic decision processes, Markov chains, and finite Markov decision processes. Explain and apply core reinforcement learning concepts, ...

Start working toward program admission and requirements right away. Work you complete in the non-credit experience will transfer to the for-credit experience when you ...

Algorithms have taken on an almost mythical significance in the modern world. They determine what you see on social media and when browsing online, help form people’s belief systems, and impact the ...

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. Imagine a town with two widget merchants. Customers prefer cheaper widgets, so the merchants must compete to set the lowest price.