Knowledge-Creating LLMs
Summary
Cunningham distinguishes knowledge-sharing models, which make existing expertise cheap to distribute, from knowledge-creating models that extend the frontier of human knowledge. The latter could produce very different economics: firms may restrict access, concentrate inference spending on a few valuable problems, and use intellectual property to preserve the rents from new discoveries.
Why it matters
The distinction connects improvements in AI reasoning to business models, knowledge rents, open versus closed access, and the economics of innovation.
What to keep in mind
Knowledge sharing and knowledge creation form a continuum. The essay proposes an analytical distinction rather than demonstrating that present systems have already crossed a clear threshold.