Bin packing problems are a class of NP-hard combinatorial optimisation challenges with wide-ranging applications in logistics, manufacturing, cloud computing and scheduling. The fundamental task is to ...

Right now, quantum computers are small and error-prone compared to where they’ll likely be in a few years. Even within those limitations, however, there have been regular claims that the hardware can ...

It’s been difficult to find important questions that quantum computers can answer faster than classical machines, but a new algorithm appears to do it for some critical optimization tasks. For ...

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. For computer scientists, solving problems is a bit like mountaineering. First they must choose a problem to solve—akin to identifying a ...

Since the very first days of computer science — a field known for its methodical approach to problem-solving — randomness has played an important role. The first program to run on the world’s first ...

Can we ever really trust algorithms to make decisions for us? Previous research has proved these programs can reinforce society’s harmful biases, but the problems go beyond that. A new study shows how ...

For a retailer, it’s extremely useful to know whether a customer will be back or has abandoned you for good. Starting in the late 1980s, academic researchers began to develop sophisticated predictive ...

Tech companies acknowledge machine-learning algorithms can perpetuate discrimination and need improvement. By Zachary Small The artist Stephanie Dinkins has long been a pioneer in combining art and ...