Commodization has been a staple of the information technology realm for years. It really doesn’t matter what personal computer or smartphone you use, and stepping it up in the enterprise, databases and cloud systems can readily be swapped, based on price and support servies. Is artificial intelligence reaching this point? Opinions vary. Commoditization occurs when products or technologies are widely available and interchangeable. It also follows the democratization of offerings. Also, the products or technologies no longer raise enterprises above the market fray, any more than having a well-wired electrical system would. But a company. can’t thrive without it. AI tools and platforms — particularly generative AI — it may meet such definitions — as it is now widespread, available to all at no or low cost. And since everybody now uses it to some degree, it may not offer significant competitive advantage. Does that mean, just as PCs and internet access are commodities that don’t necessarily deliver competitive advantage, AI is on the same path? Everyone needs it, but everyone will also have it. Nicolas Carr, author and former editor of Harvard Business Review, identified this phenomenon two decades ago in his seminal work, “Does IT Matter?” In essence, IT had become a “utility” that everyone simply is expected to have. The affordability and availability of technology to all has leveled the playing field, and therefore no one gains any competitive advantage. No company gains market share as a result of having an exceptionally well-wired electrical system. “When online shopping was new to all of us, ‘e-commerce’ was deemed a huge differentiator for companies,” says Brian Fitzgerald, chief revenue officer at Augury. “Today, e-commerce is status-quo, and we call it shopping. I think AI will follow suit in a similar way. People will no longer care about AI as a buzzword and novel enhancement, but rather the processes and business outcomes that it produces will become standard.
Full opinion : Generative AI will eventually be commodotized and will be such a big part of our day to day life that we will forget it exists.
