#competitive-dynamics

#competitive-dynamics

The companies building frontier AI systems - OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Anthropic, Meta AI, xAI - are locked in what the industry itself sometimes calls a "race." That metaphor isn't incidental. A race implies a finish line, competitors, and - critically - a cost to slowing down. When you're in a race, safety isn't a feature. It's friction.

In a world where third spaces are dying, and consumers are being segregated between haves and have-nots at every turn, the airport bar has quietly endured. But the airport bar is not-so-quietly under siege. Airport concessions took a hit during the pandemic, and while they benefited from the subsequent revenge travel, the rebound has stalled.