Why Specialization Is Inevitable

Dharma AI highlights a 2026 paper by Goldfeder, Wyder, LeCun, and Shwartz-Ziv, arguing that specialization is an inevitable principle for effective AI. Contrary to the expectation of increasing generality with capability, the most successful AI systems are narrowly focused. This pattern, observed across domains and decades, is supported by optimization theory, evolutionary biology, and competitive markets, all of which predict that an algorithm or system wins by fitting its target rather than attempting universal generality.