The SMTP example is interesting. There have been numerous proposed replacements, but the network effect problem makes technically superior approaches unviable.

The SMTP example is interesting. There have been numerous proposed replacements, but the network effect problem makes technically superior approaches unviable. So for SMTP I’d say, if that team had done this, someone else would have shipped a basic, flawed protocol first and SMTP would never have gotten off the ground. But… AI doesn’t have those same network effects. At least not technical ones. Business ones to some degree.