Transforming AI with Superconductors and Light

Part of the DISCoVER NSF Expedition Seminar Series -- Transforming AI with Superconductors and Light with Dr. Jeff Shainline.
Modern AI is running into a hard limit: communication between processors is becoming the dominant barrier to scaling. Optical communication—especially at the single-photon level—offers a path forward. Combined with superconducting electronics, it could fundamentally transform how intelligent machines are built.

In this seminar, Dr. Jeff Shainline, Founder and CEO of Great Sky, explores new AI architectures that combine:

Semiconductors for foundational electronics
Superconductors for ultra-efficient, ultra-fast computation using Josephson junctions
Photonic integrated circuits for communication using light instead of electricity

Operating at 4 Kelvin, these systems dramatically reduce optical power consumption and allow nonlinear neural operations to be implemented directly in superconducting hardware.

You’ll hear about:
The motivation behind merging photonics and superconductors
How cryogenic systems reduce overall energy use
Experimental demonstrations of these technologies
The limits of today’s AI hardware and why this new approach matters
How Great Sky is building chips and a software stack for next-generation AI systems

About Dr. Shainline
With over 5000 citations, 11 patents, and recognition with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), Dr. Shainline previously spent 12 years at NIST advancing superconducting and photonic technologies. Today, he leads Great Sky, a startup developing transformative AI hardware powered by superconductors and light.