The Platforming Process of Artificial Intelligence
How general-purpose technologies achieve economic transformation?
1The Rapid Rise of AI
Artificial intelligence technology is advancing rapidly. Approximately 2.4 billion people worldwide use AI platforms monthly. Coding tools have fundamentally changed software development processes. For example, the AI coding platform Cursor reached a $2 billion revenue target by early 2026. Perplexity, on the other hand, disrupted the search market, reaching 100 million monthly users.
2Corporate AI Adoption
AI is not limited to AI-focused companies. Salesforce’s Agentforce achieved $1.2 billion in annual revenue. Harvey became widespread in large law firms. Shopify made AI usage a baseline expectation in its operations. These developments resemble the early stages of a platform ecosystem.
3Potential as a General-Purpose Technology
AI has the potential to become not just a successful technology platform but a general-purpose technology like electricity or the internal combustion engine. Such technologies have the power to transform organizations, industries, and the economy. However, realizing this potential requires technological, industrial, and institutional architectures.
4The Platforming Process
General-purpose technologies must undergo a platforming process to achieve economic transformation. This process requires the alignment of technological, industrial, and institutional architectures. As seen in the case of electricity, the stabilization of these architectures enables organizations to gain confidence in investing and experimenting.
5The Electricity Example
Electricity was technologically proven and commercially viable by 1882. However, widespread electrification began with the Niagara Falls hydroelectric project (1895-1896). Industrial architecture matured under the public utility model between 1898 and 1907. Institutional architecture was completed with the establishment of public utility commissions in 1907.
6AI’s Technological Architecture
AI’s technological architecture is still evolving. Among leading developers, pretrained, language-based foundation models; specialized hardware; cloud-based training and inference; and API-mediated delivery are prevalent. This architecture is shaping AI into a layered stack: chips, cloud infrastructure, foundation models, and applications.
7Industrial Architecture
AI’s industrial architecture relies on a division of labor among hardware manufacturers, cloud providers, and software developers. This architecture enables organizations to confidently adopt and integrate AI technologies. However, this process is not yet complete.
8Institutional Architecture
AI’s institutional architecture is taking shape with the establishment of regulatory bodies and standards. This architecture ensures that organizations operate in a compliant and secure environment when using AI technologies. However, full stability in this area has not yet been achieved.
9Challenges of Platforming
The platforming process of AI requires the alignment of technological, industrial, and institutional architectures. This process enables organizations to gain confidence in investing and experimenting. However, the full stabilization of these architectures will take time.
10Future Expectations
Once AI’s platforming process is complete, economic transformation will accelerate. Organizations will be able to adopt and integrate AI technologies more confidently. This process will follow a path similar to the historical transformations of general-purpose technologies like electricity and the internet.
11Opportunities for Organizations
As AI’s platforming process continues, significant opportunities emerge for organizations. Those that align technological, industrial, and institutional architectures can play a leading role in economic transformation.
12Conclusion and Importance
The platforming process of AI is the key to economic transformation. Once complete, AI technologies will become a general-purpose technology, fundamentally transforming organizations, industries, and the economy. This transformation shares similarities with historical examples like electricity and the internet.
Original article: Sloan Management Review — Yapay Zekanın Platformlaşma Süreci