Leading AI firms have current moats

Two public commentators (Arnold Kling and Lee Bressler) assert that, as of early 2026, the top model builders possess durable competitive moats that make them hard to disrupt from below. The claim implies consolidation driven by combined advantages — proprietary data, talent, capital, and hardware access — rather than only superior algorithms. — If accepted, this framing focuses debates about AI on competition policy, industrial subsidies, and data‑access rules rather than solely on narrow model safety or openness.