Unlike cloud or mobile, which incumbents initially ignored, AI adoption is consensus. Startups can't rely on incumbents being slow. The new 'white space' for disruption exists in niche markets large companies still deem too small to enter.

Unlike previous tech waves that trickled down from large institutions, AI adoption is inverted. Individuals are the fastest adopters, followed by small businesses, with large corporations and governments lagging. This reverses the traditional power dynamic of technology access and creates new market opportunities.

The initial experience of using a powerful AI tool is one of immense personal empowerment. This feeling is quickly tempered by the realization that this capability is now universally accessible, effectively devaluing the specialized skill and diluting the individual's competitive advantage.

The democratization of technology via AI shifts the entrepreneurial goalpost. Instead of focusing on creating a handful of billion-dollar "unicorns," the more impactful ambition is to empower millions of people to each build a million-dollar "donkey corn" business, truly broadening economic opportunity.

AI is not solely a tool for the powerful; it can also level the playing field. Grassroots political campaigns and labor organizers can use AI to access capabilities—like personalized mass communication and safety reporting apps—that were previously only affordable for well-funded, established entities.

New technologies perceived as job-destroying, like AI, face significant public and regulatory risk. A powerful defense is to make the general public owners of the technology. When people have a financial stake in a technology's success, they are far more likely to defend it than fight against it.

During major platform shifts like AI, it's tempting to project that companies will capture all the value they create. However, competitive forces ensure the vast majority of productivity gains (the "surplus") flows to end-users, not the technology creators.

In its largest user study, OpenAI's research team frames AI not just as a product but as a fundamental utility, stating its belief that "access to AI should be treated as a basic right." This perspective signals a long-term ambition for AI to become as integral to society as electricity or internet access.

The most profound innovations in history, like vaccines, PCs, and air travel, distributed value broadly to society rather than being captured by a few corporations. AI could follow this pattern, benefiting the public more than a handful of tech giants, especially with geopolitical pressures forcing commoditization.