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For transport, yes light is more desirable. For computing, no. The fact that electrons interact with each other is the basis of computational circuits. The article is about how to get photons to do the same.

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Pardon me, but I don't think you get the big picture either. Chip industry is now seriously considering photonics based on-chip interconnect for better speed and efficiency [1][2]. However having this hybrid system of electronics and photonics required conversion overhead that's being lamented in the posted article. Ideally, having native photonics based computing and communication systems is going to be a game changer for better speed and efficiency since no conversion is necessary.

[1]Two Startups Are Bringing Fiber to the Processor:

https://spectrum.ieee.org/optical-interconnects

[2]Power and Latency Analysis of the Memory Tiering Pyramid: The CXL Effects:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34037321

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