You're Using the Wrong AI
Speakers
Ejaaz Ahamadeen
— Co-Host, Limitless Podcast (Bankless)
Josh Kale
— Co-Host, Limitless Podcast (Bankless)
Summary
The hosts map the crowded frontier AI model landscape across closed US labs and cheap Chinese open-source models. They argue most consumers should pick a $20 subscription to a major lab, while specialty use cases favor Grok for X, ChatGPT for voice/images, Claude for coding/context, and Gemini for music/marketing. They also highlight company-level implications for Google, Microsoft, and Apple and expect aggregator platforms and local open models to become more important.
- Frontier model supply has exploded, with US closed labs losing OpenRouter token share to Chinese open-source models.
- Pricing now matters more than raw intelligence, pushing labs to distill cheaper models.
- Consumers are best served by one major subscription; open-source Chinese models suit high-volume agentic use.
- Grok is strongest for real-time X/news; ChatGPT stands out in voice and image generation; Claude leads coding, writing, and high-intelligence work; Gemini is narrow for music/marketing.
- Google and Microsoft have legacy enterprise distribution moats and AI venture fund-like stakes in OpenAI, SpaceX, and Anthropic.
- Ejaaz expects aggregator platforms to be the next big AI winner; Stripe's OpenRouter acquisition is cited.
- Josh sees Apple's upcoming on-device AI as likely to dominate consumer local AI.
Ideas
Google/Microsoft legacy distribution moat persists.
Google and Microsoft have a legacy distribution moat even though they are not frontier AI model leaders: Microsoft is embedded across Fortune 500 companies through Teams and the Microsoft Suite, while Google is embedded through Google Docs and Google Suite, so enterprises and startups will keep clicking the convenient AI button. Josh added that Google seems slightly ahead of Microsoft but both benefit from this older customer base.
Apple local AI could own consumer AI.
Apple is the AI wildcard for local, consumer AI: Apple's upcoming on-device model and event can make Siri pre-downloaded and competent across its massive installed base, eliminating the friction of downloading open-source weights; Josh argues Apple will own that entire local AI world and calls it the biggest event ever.
