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When the Model Is the Market

Who Really Controls AI?

Most people think of AI as chatbots or image generation. In fact, modern AI is a complex layered system—and the real power is at the bottom: the model layer itself.
In Episode 4 of the Control in AI Series, we unpack the AI stack (Model → System → Interface) and explain why whoever controls the model layer effectively controls the entire market. You’ll discover how scale, learning effects, and scope economies concentrate advantage at the model layer and why the market has shifted from open research to centralized platforms and the two competing visions of AI: shared infrastructure vs. controlled platform.
It also considers what this shift means for competition, why governance is now the critical issue, and how the same system that fuels innovation can also lead to lock-in and dependence.


Read the full article and graphic analysis:

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