Where Are the "Killer Apps" of AI?

Tim O'Reilly compares AI's development to past technology revolutions, arguing that ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini are like the browsers of the early web—enabling platforms rather than killer apps. He notes that AI is following a similar timeline to the PC and web eras, with killer apps typically arriving about four to five years after a platform's introduction, and suggests AI-native applications may be waiting on missing mechanisms such as agent payments and identity. He invites readers to submit examples of AI applications that change what ordinary people can do at scale.