This deep-dive episode explores the ideas from Jeff Shainline’s recent seminar on superconducting optoelectronic networks (SOENs) and the radical rethink of AI hardware they represent. We unpack how SOENs combine analog superconducting circuits, integrated memory, and single-photon optical communication to bypass the von Neumann bottleneck and deliver massive gains in speed, energy efficiency, and scalability. If you’re curious about brain-inspired hardware, trillion-parameter AI, or the future of computation, this episode guides you through the key concepts and why they matter.