This paper presents an overview of circuits and systems techniques for AI-managed analog/digital interfaces with application in Software-Defined Radio (SDR) and Cognitive Radio (CR) mobile telecom systems. Some design trends and challenges are discussed, going from new communications and computing paradigms for AIoT devices and networks, to digital-based/scaling-friendly analog circuit techniques for an efficient digitization. The state of the art on Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADCs) is surveyed, putting emphasis on highly-programmable Sigma-Delta Modulators as one of the best ADC candidates for SDR/CR transceivers. Some chip examples are shown to illustrate their potential application in AI-enhanced CR end-devices.