A Looming Transformation In 2026 And Its Far-Reaching Implications

The stakes are high, with the potential for uneven adoption across countries and sectors yielding significant economic and security consequences. In 2026, the AI landscape is expected to undergo a transformative shift, driven by rapid advancements in capabilities. This phenomenon, dubbed “AI takeoff,” is characterized by an unprecedented acceleration of AI improvements, yielding far-reaching implications for the economy and national security.

Recent developments serve as evidence of this impending takeoff. For instance, the release of Claude Opus 4. 5 in November showcased the model’s ability to solve complex software engineering problems with 50 percent reliability, a feat that previously took human experts nearly five hours to accomplish. The self-reinforcing nature of AI improvements is further underscored by the remarks of Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who noted that the “vast majority” of code for new Claude models is now written by Claude itself.

This trend is expected to continue, with U. S.