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Kevin Reynolds's avatar

Isn’t Microsoft doing essentially the same with its AI built into products like PowerPoint and others in the Office suite?

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Tom White's avatar

Fair point and very true! That said, they are fighting the war on just one front (enterprise) whereas Google not only has enterprise covered, but also the additional advantage of consumer access/scale/distribution.

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Kevin Reynolds's avatar

Makes sense but it’s hard to imagine Microsoft going quietly into the night, especially with its own distribution channels in the PC business world.

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Tom White's avatar

No way will they go quietly into the night! However, I think the company that effectively marries enterprise efficacy with consumer enjoyment will win. Holistic AI that touches every part of your life will be the AI that people want to use (or default to using). Google has a great, big head start there.

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Michael Logan 🐦‍🔥's avatar

It will indeed become a commodity and he who owns the ports wins. Netflix is buying Warner Bros. Three dudes working in the metaphysics space on the intersection of consciousness and technology were Itzhak Bentov, Jacobin Grinberg and Michael Talbot. Two died, the third went missing. I reference them because of the intro quote by Arthur C. Clarke which I frequently use too.

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Tom White's avatar

Consolidation is the law of the land!

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Michael Logan 🐦‍🔥's avatar

Actually, I think we’ve been under the law of the sea, Maritime Admiralty Law, for some time. 😉

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PTBirnam's avatar

Brilliant, Tom. Hit the nail smack on the head.

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Tom White's avatar

Thank you!

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Jeffrey Flathers's avatar

Most of the stuff that comes out of vending machines is not good for you. Will AI be good for us?

You are probably right that Google will be in the driver’s seat for the foreseeable future. Vertical integration is the Buzz word ha ha ha.

But always remember that John D Rockefeller set the standard—-Standard Oil that is. That was the monopoly for decades. Production, distribution, research and development… You name it, the Standard was King. Then came the 1911 Supreme Court decision to break up the monopoly. Might that happen to Google one day? Food for thought.

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Tom White's avatar

Was waiting for someone to comment on the junk food Easter egg! And I think breaking up the monopoly is the only way Google “loses.”

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kevin ghost's avatar

I really enjoyed this piece - it’s very resonant and what you’re saying makes a lot of sense to me.

How do you see China fitting in? I suppose I’m conflating here the race towards AGI, but our inability to build power stations quickly is the biggest threat to US-based AI pursuits, and I just wonder what your thoughts are. I’ve been thinking lately that because of this power problem that China has systematically mitigated, that ultimately their versions of AI will gain dominance, as we in the regulated west essentially run out of power.

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