Goals one wants to achieve with those two theories are similar.
We know
that superstring theory is a potential theory of everything. One may want to
ask what is the difference between the string-net-liquid approach and the
superstring approach? Our understanding of the superstring theory has been
evolving. According to an early understanding of the superstring theory, all
the elementary particles correspond to small segments of superstrings.
Different vibration modes of a small superstring result in different types of
elementary particles. This point of view is very different from that of the
string-net liquid. According to the string-net picture, everything comes from
simple qubits that form the space.
No qubits no space. The "1" qubits form string-nets. The strings can be as long as the size of universe, which
fill the whole space. Light
(photons) correspond to the collective motion of the large string-nets and an
electron corresponds to a single end of string. (See a picture of string-net "vaccum". See also a talk) A modern understanding
of the superstring theory is still under development. According to Witten, one
of the most important questions in superstring theory is to understand what is
superstring. So at this time, it is impossible to compare the
modern understanding of the superstring theory with the string-net theory. In
particular it not clear if the superstring theory can be viewed as a local
bosonic system (ie a qubit system). The string-net theory is fundamentally a local bosonic system (ie a qubit system).
So, if superstring theory is a qubit model (or a quantum spin model in condensed matter physics), then superstring theory and the string-net theory is the same, since the string-net theory is a qubit model (or a quantum spin model in condensed matter physics).
