In business strategy you’ll often hear a competitive advantage described as a moat, but most moats are more like a long bridge. The moat is the thing that prevents others from easily replicating another business. A long bridge takes a time build and is effectively a moat if it’s impractical to catch up or simply makes it a schlep.
In a sense, generative AI is a bridge shortening technology opening up many businesses to greater competition. Of course, replication does not a business make, but what happens when a motivated group of smart people uses better tools to build a competitive offering in a short-bridge amount of time?
See also:
- The book 7 Powers shows that building large durable business has more to it than building
- Time is still the hardest to replicate advantage since advantages accrue to the leader and incumbants have been the leader for much longer
- Maybe managerial capitalism is the true moat destroying technology?