Pseudorandom correlation generators - constructions and applications

In this talk, I will survey recent advances in the construction of pseudorandom correlation generators (PCG). A PCG generates a pair of short correlated seeds which can be locally stretched into long pseudorandom instances of a target correlation. Secure sources of random correlations are often used in secure computation, since they enable the use of very efficient MPC protocols in the preprocessing model. A PCG provides a silent way to generate such correlations, following a one-time short interaction. I will cover the basic principles underlying all modern constructions of PCGs, and explain the challenges that arise along the way. I will also survey some more advanced constructions of (variants of) PCGs and discuss their applications.