  Polynomial functors are useful in the theory of data types, where they are
often called containers. They are also useful in algebra, combinatorics,
topology, and higher category theory, and in this broader perspective the
polynomial aspect is often prominent and justifies the terminology. For
example, Tambara's theorem states that the category of finite polynomial
functors is the Lawvere theory for commutative semirings. In this talk I will
explain how an upgrade of the theory from sets to groupoids is useful to deal
with data types with symmetries, and provides a common generalisation of and a
clean unifying framework for quotient containers (cf. Abbott et al.), species
and analytic functors (Joyal 1985), as well as the stuff types of Baez-Dolan.
The multi-variate setting also includes relations and spans, multispans, and
stuff operators. An attractive feature of this theory is that with the correct
homotopical approach - homotopy slices, homotopy pullbacks, homotopy colimits,
etc. - the groupoid case looks exactly like the set case. After some standard
examples, I will illustrate the notion of data-types-with-symmetries with
examples from quantum field theory, where the symmetries of complicated tree
structures of graphs play a crucial role, and can be handled elegantly using
polynomial functors over groupoids. (These examples, although beyond species,
are purely combinatorial and can be appreciated without background in quantum
field theory.) Locally cartesian closed 2-categories provide semantics for
2-truncated intensional type theory. For a fullfledged type theory, locally
cartesian closed \infty-categories seem to be needed. The theory of these is
being developed by D.Gepner and the author as a setting for homotopical
species, and several of the results exposed in this talk are just truncations
of \infty-results obtained in joint work with Gepner. Details will appear
elsewhere.
