The Last Moat: What Happens When AI Intelligence Is Commoditized?
markjeffrey · x · 2026-08-03
This article explores how traditional businesses can find new moats when AI intelligence becomes ubiquitous and cheap. Through a fictional 2028 scenario, the author suggests that the rise of open-source models and distributed compute will shatter the monopoly of closed AI labs, making intelligence alone insufficient as a competitive barrier.
The piece argues that future competition will shift from the ability to access intelligence to deeper business elements like trust, coordination mechanisms, and proprietary network effects that cannot be easily replicated.
Related event: MIT Scholar: Verification Network Effects Are the Only Moat in the AI Era(4 posts)→
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