(LSJ) Intelligence as a Commodity
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Intelligence as a commodity
The concept of "intelligence as a commodity" has gained traction in discussions around artificial intelligence, economics, and society, particularly as AI technologies advance rapidly. At its core, it refers to the idea that intelligence—once a scarce, human-centric resource—is becoming widely accessible, inexpensive, and standardized, much like utilities such as electricity or water.^2
This shift is driven by developments in AI, including pre-trained models, open-source frameworks, and scalable computing, which democratize access to sophisticated reasoning and knowledge processing.^{4, 6}
Why Intelligence Is Commoditizing
* Technological Drivers: AI systems, powered by large language models and generative tools, are turning raw computational intelligence into something plug-and-play. For instance, open-source initiatives accelerate this by making advanced AI freely available, reducing barriers to entry, and pushing costs toward zero.^6 As a result, tasks like data analysis, content creation, or basic problem-solving are no longer exclusive to experts; they're available on demand via APIs or apps.
* Economic Parallels: Just as electricity became a commodity in the 20th century, enabling widespread innovation without everyone needing to build their own power plants, AI is following suit.^2 This commoditization means that "intelligence" itself trends toward marginal cost, shifting competitive edges to execution, creativity, or human judgment rather than mere access to smarts.^{0, 24}
* Timeline and Examples: Predictions suggest milestones like AI automating movie production by 2029 or AI research by 2027, with intelligence becoming essentially free for many applications.^{11} In business, platforms like email marketing tools (e.g., Klaviyo) illustrate this: the base function is commoditized, but layered intelligence provides the real value.^{16}
Societal and Economic Implications
When intelligence is no longer a differentiator, societies may face profound changes.^1 Raw human knowledge or IQ could lose their edge in the job market, pushing workers toward roles emphasizing adaptation, meaning-making, or ethical oversight.^{5, 8} For example:
Upsides: Greater equity in access to tools for education, innovation, and problem-solving. Developing countries or individuals without elite education could leapfrog traditional barriers.
Downsides: Potential job displacement in knowledge-based fields, increased dependency on AI systems, and questions about human agency— are we becoming more capable or just more reliant?^{20, 22} There's also an energy angle: AI's voracious power demands could compete with other sectors like cryptocurrency mining, creating a game-theoretic balance in resource allocation.^{12}
Beyond Commodity: The Human Element
While AI commoditizes intelligence, true understanding, context, and wisdom remain superpowers.^3 The key isn't hoarding AI but integrating it as an augmentation to human capabilities, rather than treating it as a separate tool or weapon.^{20} In a world where answers are cheap, the most valuable skill becomes asking the right questions or turning noise into actionable narratives.^{5, 24}
Organizations can mitigate
commoditization's downsides by adopting AI frameworks that emphasize value-added elements, like privacy-focused data handling or hybrid human-AI decision-making.^{7, 10} As AI evolves—think models like those from xAI— the focus shifts from scarcity to abundance, challenging us to redefine what makes intelligence truly precious.
Footnotes
^{0.} Brynjolfsson, E. and Unger, G. 'The Macroeconomics of Artificial Intelligence', Finance & Development [online]. (December 2023). Available at: https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/2023/12/Macroeconomics-of-artificial-intelligence-Brynjolfsson-Unger (Accessed: 21 October 2025).
^{1.} 'How Will Artificial Intelligence Affect the Economy?', Policy Center for the New South [online]. (26 January 2024). Available at: https://www.policycenter.ma/publications/how-will-artificial-intelligence-affect-economy (Accessed: 21 October 2025).
^{2.} McKendrick, J. 'As AI Rapidly Becomes A Commodity, Time To Consider The Next ...', Forbes [online]. (7 February 2024). Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/joemckendrick/2024/02/07/as-ai-rapidly-becomes-a-commodity-time-to-consider-the-next-step/ (Accessed: 21 October 2025).
^{3.} O'Reilly, K. 'On Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Commodity Trading', LinkedIn [online]. (21 July 2025). Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/artificial-intelligence-ai-commodity-trading-kevin-o-reilly-p3she (Accessed: 21 October 2025).
^{4.} 'What do we know about the economics of AI?', MIT News [online]. (6 December 2024). Available at: https://news.mit.edu/2024/what-do-we-know-about-economics-ai-1206 (Accessed: 21 October 2025).
^{5.} 'On the Commoditization of Artificial Intelligence', Frontiers in Psychology [online]. (29 September 2021). Available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.696346/full (Accessed: 21 October 2025).
^{6.} 'AI commoditisation: Threat or opportunity?', WeAreBrain [online]. (5 May 2025). Available at: https://wearebrain.com/blog/ai-commoditisation-business-threat-or-opportunity/ (Accessed: 21 October 2025).
^{7.} 'Uncovering dynamic connectedness of Artificial intelligence stocks...', Research in International Business and Finance [online]. (2023). Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0275531923002726 (Accessed: 21 October 2025).
^{8.} 'From automation to augmentation: Human skills in the age of AI', Thunderbird.asu.edu [online]. (25 August 2025). Available at: https://thunderbird.asu.edu/thought-leadership/insights/from-automation-to-augmentation (Accessed: 21 October 2025).
^{10.} Sachendra. 'The biggest promise of AI: Intelligence as a commodity', Medium [online]. (18 September 2023). Available at: https://medium.com/@sachendra/the-biggest-promise-of-ai-intelligence-as-a-commodity-3fc0b6387fab (Accessed: 21 October 2025).
^{11.} Schick, N. 'The Industrialization of Intelligence', Nina Schick [online]. (3 February 2025). Available at: https://ninaschick.substack.com/p/the-industrialization-of-intelligence (Accessed: 21 October 2025).
^{12.} 'Intelligence as a Commodity #ai #generativeai #podcast', YouTube [online video]. (14 October 2025). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OHH_ZS-C0U4 (Accessed: 21 October 2025).
^{16.} 'Intelligence as a Commodity: The Shifting Currency of Human Value', LinkedIn [online]. (1 February 2025). Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/intelligence-commodity-shifting-currency-human-value-sreejith-ponne-xmtwe (Accessed: 21 October 2025).
^{20.} 'AI and the Future of Work: Assessing the Human Rights Implications of Job Displacement', Article One Advisors [online]. (26 June 2025). Available at: https://articleoneadvisors.com/ai-and-the-future-of-work-assessing-the-human-rights-implications-of-job-displacement/ (Accessed: 21 October 2025).
^{22.} '[2506.06576] Future of Work with AI Agents: Auditing Automation ...', arXiv [online]. (6 June 2025). Available at: https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.06576 (Accessed: 21 October 2025).
^{24.} Hayes II, J. 'AI Will Reshape Business. But The Competitive Advantage Is Still ...', Forbes [online]. (22 September 2025). Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/julianhayesii/2025/09/22/ai-will-reshape-business-but-the-competitive-advantage-is-still-human/ (Accessed: 21 October 2025).
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