AI’s foundational role in knowledge work means monopolies can’t be broken like social media or browsers. Alternatives to centralized AI systems must be built now.
Opinion by: Scott Stuart, founder at Kava Labs
During November 2025, OpenAI executives floated the idea of a government partnership that sounded remarkably similar to a bailout. They walked it back after significant blowback. The trial balloon marked what everyone already knew but didn’t want to say out loud: AI’s biggest companies are already “too big to fail.”
In 2024, the US government proved the point. After a multiyear Google antitrust trial, the US government secured a liability ruling finding the company maintained an illegal monopoly, but remedies have yet to be finalized, highlighting how slow and uncertain antitrust enforcement can be.
