Power to the people: How LLMs flip the script on technology diffusion

Transformative technologies usually follow a top-down diffusion path: originating in government or military contexts, passing through corporations, and eventually reaching individuals - think electricity, cryptography, computers, flight, the internet, or GPS. This progression feels intuitive, new and powerful technologies are usually scarce, capital-intensive, and their use requires specialized technical expertise in the early stages. So it strikes me as quite unique and remarkable that LLMs dis...