This essay explores the technical and political dimensions of fast AI inference for agentic systems. While acknowledging the genuine importance of speed benchmarks like Clarifai’s 544 tokens/second achievement, it examines the deeper questions of infrastructure control, the countervailing force of open-weights models, and the implications of reasoning engines becoming extensions of human cognition.

Google DeepMind’s partnership with Boston Dynamics represents a pivotal moment in embodied AI development, combining advanced AI models with capable robotic hardware. This essay explores both the genuine potential benefits—elder care, dangerous work, accessibility—and the serious risks of concentrated ownership over physical AI systems. The critical question isn’t whether this technology will exist, but whether its benefits will be distributed broadly or captured by the few companies building it.