SSI, Thinking Machines, World Labs, Humans&—each represents a different bet on AI's future. But ambition isn't the variable that matters. Scarcity is. The Great Filtration will separate those who control something defensible from those who don't.
The most significant capability gains in AI aren't coming from bigger models—they're coming from embedding prediction inside optimization. Generation is becoming a proposal step. The thermodynamic turn is already underway.
LLMs optimize plausibility, not truth. RAG and verification compensate, but don't change the architecture. Real progress requires systems that learn from outcomes over time or alternative foundations that sidestep token prediction entirely. Different error economics.
Two rival CEOs. One warning. At Davos 2026, Anthropic's Amodei and DeepMind's Hassabis agreed: AI will overwhelm our ability to adapt within years. The question is whether we shape the transition, or suffer it by default.
We stand at a phase transition where intelligence becomes commodity and scarcity shifts to authenticity. The threat isn't machines taking jobs—it's humans losing internal models that constitute agency. The next decade determines whether we remain architects or become clients.