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Product leaders today operate in a field shaped by AI. This is the first in a series of posts that maps that field, starting with the foundational concepts: what AI is, how machine learning works, and what distinguishes the main approaches in use today. AI vs. Machine Learning Artificial intelligence refers to systems that can perform…

OpenAI has mapped out five levels of AI capability on the path to Artificial General Intelligence, or AGI. It has become a useful way to understand where AI is today, what comes next, and how far the progression extends. The five levels are: Chatbots, Reasoners, Agents, Innovators, and Organizations. Each represents a meaningful increase in what…

The AI powering your credit card fraud detection, the AI drafting your team's content, and the AI researchers are working toward next represent fundamentally different levels of capability. Where a given system sits on that progression changes how you deploy it, what you invest in, and what you should realistically expect from it. Narrow AI: The…

Every generation or so, a technology comes along that doesn't just improve what exists. It rewrites the rules entirely. Economists Timothy Bresnahan and Manuel Trajtenberg coined the term General Purpose Technology, or GPT, for this kind of technology. These technologies share three defining characteristics: they spread across most sectors of the economy, they improve over time,…

In 2000, Blockbuster generated nearly $800 million from late fees. That same year, Netflix eliminated late fees entirely, walking away from revenue its competitor couldn't live without. One company adapted to what customers wanted. The other protected what its business model required. Today, Netflix's market cap exceeds $325 billion (as of February 2026). Blockbuster no longer…