The battle for AI killer apps: building applications on top of models
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Some argue that AI's "killer app" has yet to appear, because a true killer app is never the new capability itself, but what developers build on top of it—just as VisiCalc was to the personal computer and web applications were to the browser. This view likens ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini to the browsers of this era, arguing that the current competition among model vendors is more like the platform battle between Microsoft and Netscape back then, and that value will ultimately flow to companies that build applications on top of models.
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- Hacker News AIWhere 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.
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