You can't blame them: gratuitous moats (like those provided by winner-takes-all dynamics) are not common in a functioning (competitive) economy so they get to be revered.
It feels unlikely that the recent period of big tech can keep the same benefits going forward. It was basically a political moat: counting on the ongoing lack of antitrust and consumer protection regulation. Even if the political dysfunction that allows that continues (quite likely), the wheels of the universe are turning.
The "leaked" report focuses on open source - a mode of producing software that is bound to become a major disruptor. We tend to discount open source because of its humble beginnings, long incubation, many false dawns and difficult business models. But if you objectively take a look at what is possible today with open source software, its quite breathtaking. I would not discount some tectonic shifts in adoption. The long running joke is "the year of the linux desktop", but keep adding open source AI and other related functionality and at some point the value proposition of open source computing (both for individuals and enterprises) will be crushingly large to ignore.
Don't forget too, that other force of human nature: geopolitics (e.g., think TikTok and friends). The current "moats" were established during an earlier, more innocent era. Now digitization is a top priority / concern for many countries. The idea that somebody can build a long-lived AI moat given the stakes is strange to say the least.
You can't blame them: gratuitous moats (like those provided by winner-takes-all dynamics) are not common in a functioning (competitive) economy so they get to be revered.
It feels unlikely that the recent period of big tech can keep the same benefits going forward. It was basically a political moat: counting on the ongoing lack of antitrust and consumer protection regulation. Even if the political dysfunction that allows that continues (quite likely), the wheels of the universe are turning.
The "leaked" report focuses on open source - a mode of producing software that is bound to become a major disruptor. We tend to discount open source because of its humble beginnings, long incubation, many false dawns and difficult business models. But if you objectively take a look at what is possible today with open source software, its quite breathtaking. I would not discount some tectonic shifts in adoption. The long running joke is "the year of the linux desktop", but keep adding open source AI and other related functionality and at some point the value proposition of open source computing (both for individuals and enterprises) will be crushingly large to ignore.
Don't forget too, that other force of human nature: geopolitics (e.g., think TikTok and friends). The current "moats" were established during an earlier, more innocent era. Now digitization is a top priority / concern for many countries. The idea that somebody can build a long-lived AI moat given the stakes is strange to say the least.