Source: Shtetl-Optimized | Author: Scott Aaronson | Published: 2026-02-20

Summary

Aaronson’s latest grab-bag update post covers seven topics: STOC 2026 paper acceptances (notably including BusyBeaver(5) research, signaling the field’s expanding scope); a Quanta Magazine profile of quantum complexity theorist Henry Yuen, who credits Aaronson’s blog for sparking his interest; an obituary for Joe Halpern, the Cornell theorist who formalized reasoning about knowledge; UT Austin’s consolidation of CS with statistics and data science into a new School of Computing; the ongoing AI watermarking debate after OpenAI declined to deploy the technology; and recent podcast appearances on quantum computing and cryptocurrency.

Key Insights

The Halpern obituary and Yuen profile together paint a picture of intellectual lineage in theoretical CS — Aaronson as a node in the network connecting Cornell-era foundations work to MIT-era quantum complexity. The UT Austin reorganization is a small signal of a broader institutional trend: computing departments absorbing adjacent quantitative fields rather than the reverse. The watermarking item is the most policy-relevant — Aaronson has been personally involved in AI watermarking research, so his noting OpenAI’s decision not to deploy it (and the resulting push for legislative mandates) carries insider weight.

Our Take

Classic Aaronson updatez format — the value is in the curation and the personal connections drawn between items rather than any single deep argument. The BusyBeaver(5) mention at STOC is genuinely exciting for anyone following computability theory. The watermarking discussion deserved more depth given Aaronson’s unique position straddling academia and AI industry, but that’s presumably coming in a dedicated post. Useful as a signal of what the quantum/TCS community is paying attention to right now.