I’m Drew, and today we’re diving into a technology that could redefine the future of computing: photonics. Instead of relying on electrons to move information, photonic computers use light—streams of photons—to process data at incredible speeds with far less energy. It’s not just faster chips; it’s a complete shift in how machines think.

In this episode, we’ll explore how photonic circuits work, why they could outperform traditional silicon processors, and what it means for the future of artificial intelligence, data centers, and sustainable computing. From the physics of photons to the engineering challenges of turning light into logic, we’ll uncover how researchers are teaching light to calculate, learn, and make decisions.

We’ll also look at what stands in the way—manufacturing complexity, alignment precision, and the need to rethink how we design software for light-based systems. But behind those challenges lies a world of possibility: AI that trains in seconds instead of days, computers that barely use energy, and technologies that bring us closer to the physical limits of speed itself.

This is the story of how light is beginning to think—and how it might illuminate the next era of human innovation.