Is Medium connecting different realities?

Apple and Microsoft are two prime examples that demonstrate their power in the age of AI. They control access to customers.

The best AI has a value of zero when nobody knows about it. Where do people use ChatGPT these days? Via their smartphones and tablets. Apple's installed base ensures that ChatGPT needs to go through their ecosystem.

Microsoft? They simply route the AI use cases through their customer frontend: Microsoft Office.

Once they have hooked the customers, they simply start increasing prices for premium services. Hook them with free services, let them pay later. But more. It's a simple strategy.

Where do AIs run these days? Data centers, cloud services.

Who runs these centers? Apple and Microsoft are two examples.

Apple and Microsoft will become more powerful in the process unless governments intervene to break them up.

Those tiny AI companies? They can't do much unless big tech lets them through their ecosystem.

And I'm sure they'll need to pay well to gain access to those kingdoms.