“The future belongs to those who can harness the power of AI to unlock their own potential and create new opportunities.”
– Nicky Verd, Disrupt Yourself Or Be Disrupted

This was copied over from a chat on January 12th, 2026 with close friends. We were discussing the future of AI, and I wanted to capture the thoughts.

The ultimate goal in the industry remains the development of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), an AI that can perform any intellectual task that a human can do.

Elon has said he thinks that we'll reach AGI in 2026. I kind of think we already have a form of AGI. It's not a difficult test. Open a new Chat, answer it to solve a math problem, then ask it to write a poem, then to write a term paper, etc. I will jump between them all pretty effortlessly.

There's something called "context" in AI that is being under-appreciated, in my opinion. Think of it like this, you open a chat and exchange a number of questions about a single topic. As you go, the context grows based on your questions and answers, you "steer" the specific knowledge you're interested in. Having some super AI that knows everything, again, in my opinion, isn't even preferable. Who the hell asks their doctor for advice on doing their taxes? You ask your accountant. Who asks their personal trainer about car maintenance if the guy rides a bike to work? You ask a mechanic.

I think we're going to see "branded AIs". This you need home decoration ideas. You live in a specific place in the country with its own climate and cultural preferences. Who knows better about furniture and people's purchasing habits? IKEA! There will be an "IKEA Interior Decorator AI", no doubt! Or, smaller places, form conglomerates to recommend their products. Look at MillerKnowl, owner of Herman Miller, Design within Reach, and many more. They could partner with Bed, Bath, and Beyond or Target and co-build an AI!

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