The Original Seven Wonders Of The World
Original Seven Wonders Of The World collage and their Rebooted 21st Century AI Counterparts.
Just as ancient civilizations once marveled at the Seven Wonders of the World, today we are witnessing a new wave of awe from artificial intelligence. While it seems like not one hour goes by without a new product or service launch – or even entirely new AI categories being created – it’s worth taking a moment to reflect on the seven categories of advancements that are truly game-changing. From transforming how we commute, work, and create to rebooting healthcare and manufacturing, AI is driving breakthroughs in real-time, with cross-sector impacts that will span decades.
My conversations with world leaders, CEO’s, tech evangelists and early pioneers on The Reboot Chronicles Show have inspired a Seven Wonders of AI theme – each echoing the spirit of the original marvels that have captured the attention of the world for centuries. Though all but one of the original wonders are gone, time will tell what lasting impacts the AI Wonders will have on our civilization.
1. Large Language Models – Great Pyramid of Giza
OpenAI and Anthropic are catalysts for a new age.
Large Language Models and The Great Pyramid of Giza.
Like the Great Pyramid – the first and only surviving ancient wonder – Large Language Models, such as those from OpenAI and Anthropic, represent the foundational spark of the AI revolution. With its original release of ChatGPT, OpenAI brought artificial intelligence from a niche research field into a global phenomenon, now with 800 million weekly users. LLMs redefined how machines understand and generate human language, which has set off a chain of innovation in education, communication, research, and productivity. Much like the Pyramid emblemizes a beacon of ingenuity, the work of today’s LLM companies has become a monument to the potential of AI.
Looking five years ahead, OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman said in a recent post: “The 2030s are likely going to be wildly different from any time that has come before. We do not know how far beyond human-level intelligence we can go, but we are about to find out.” Does anyone know?
2. Graphics Processing Units – Lighthouse of Alexandria
NVIDIA illuminating the future of computing.
Graphics Processing Units and The Lighthouse of Alexandria.
The Lighthouse of Alexandria guided ancient sailors safely through treacherous waters. Today, NVIDIA, the world’s dominant semiconductor company that specializes in high-powered Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), lights the way for the rest of the AI world. Its GPUs are the power source behind AI, accelerating deep learning, training massive models, and bringing AI to life across industries.
With every major breakthrough – from autonomous vehicles to AI-generated art – NVIDIA’s chips light up next-generation computing. Jensen Huang, CEO and co-founder of NVIDIA recently said: “In the last 10 years, AI has advanced 1 million times…the speed of change is incredible.” One million times – so much for Moore’s Law.
3. Autonomous Enterprise – Colossus of Rhodes
Automation Anywhere accelerating mission-critical work.
Autonomous Enterprise and The Colossus of Rhodes.
Just like the Colossus was a symbol of unity and commerce, AI is redefining how enterprises can increase their productivity to do more, faster. Automation Anywhere is gaining attention for its leadership of the Agentic Process Automation (APA) category through its ambitious vision of re-imagining how work gets done, driving the move from largely manual processes to autonomous enterprises in which 80% of processes are performed autonomously by AI agents or with agent assistance. What allows the company to automate more than others in the sector is a first-to-market Process Reasoning Engine (PRE) that is trained on 400M+ automations to understand complex workflows and drive intelligent decision-making across enterprise systems.
They also introduced agentic solutions that are AI-native and engineered around how teams actually work across specific departments and industries where automation can provide the most value. Together, these innovations can help organizations become truly AI-first, redefining applications, processes, and the future of work itself.
When talking with co-founder and CEO Mihir Shukla, he said PRE has driven “a significant step forward towards artificial general intelligence for work, laying the foundation for today’s autonomous enterprise and moving us beyond task-based automation to a new era where AI can reason, learn, and adapt to complex business processes.” Real autonomous enterprises will reboot the future of work.
4. Autonomous Driving – Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Waymo bringing science fiction into daily commutes.
Autonomous Driving and The Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
The Hanging Gardens were a feat of advanced engineering and imagination – much like the work of autonomous driving companies such as Tesla and Waymo. As an early leader in self-driving vehicle technology, Waymo has turned science fiction into reality, with over 250K paid rides per week and rapid expansion across the U.S. Their powered perception systems are beginning to navigate complexity with ease, promising a world where transportation is safer, cleaner, and more efficient. Like the Gardens, it can redefine what’s possible when ambition meets machine intelligence.
The company recently crossed over 10 million trips and its co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana said “they represent people who are really integrating Waymo Driver into their everyday lives.” When you personally ride in one, you will feel its impact.
5. AI-Powered Creativity – Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
Adobe delivering endless creative marvel possibilities.
AI-Powered Creativity and The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus.
The Temple of Artemis stood as a symbol of beauty and art – fitting for companies such as Adobe and Google whose platforms merge AI with creativity. Adobe Firefly enables creators with intuitive, text-to-image generation and content editing tools that dramatically accelerate and expand the creative process, while Google’s latest offerings enable jaw-dropping creative and video capabilities for business and creators alike, with their Veo 3 release and ‘The Wizard of Oz’ experience blowing our minds around what film production could soon be.
Google Sphere AI Wizard of Oz
When asked about how AI-powered creativity can change the economic futures of entire nations, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen points to India as just one example. “Given the size and breadth of the creative opportunity, that AI unlocks, it’s fair to say that India’s next growth as an economy will not be in software code but in creativity.” Watch out Hollywood!
6. Biological Research – Statue of Zeus at Olympia
Google DeepMind creating human biology sanctuaries.
Biological Research and The Statue of Zeus at Olympia.
Just as the Statue of Zeus represented wisdom and power, AI has noble applications across healthcare, including unraveling the complexities of biological systems where billions of molecules work together to drive the human body. Work done by Google DeepMind through its AlphaFold program, has driven unprecedented progress in predicting the structure of the billons of proteins, DNA, RNA, enabling a new wave of innovation, including cancer treatment, vaccine and drug delivery and enzyme design.
Look to leaders like Daniel Diermeier, Vanderbilt University Chancellor, to reboot research with these emerging tools and achieve the bold medical breakthroughs of the 21st century. More on this in a future article. In a recent 60 Minutes interview, Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis said he believes that while it previously has taken ten years and billions of dollars to create a single drug, there’s a near future where “We can maybe reduce that down from years to maybe months or maybe even weeks…and I think one day maybe we can cure all disease with the help of AI.” All – that’s a lot.
7. Robots – Mausoleum at Halicarnassus
Hyundai and Tesla building non-human craftsmanship.
Robots and The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus.
The Mausoleum honored the intricacy and artistry of human craftsmanship. AI is channeling this spirit, not by cutting stone, but through cutting-edge robotics that have made science fiction a reality.
Hyundai’s Boston Dynamics Atlas autonomous humanoid robot is developing real-time decision-making and manipulation tasks for warehouse picking and field repairs using GenAI. Meanwhile, robot dog Spot is being leveraged by law enforcement and utility companies, while Tesla’s Optimus robots are targeting the next mass-market.
In designing robots that operate with the same natural movement and athletic intelligence as humans or animals, Boston Dynamics CEO Marc Reibart says his company has been able to power through the early technical issues that need solving, stating: “Robotics is hard… it’s not going to work right away, so don’t be discouraged. Usually, when I talk about [robotics] I show videos, and I show a long string of outtakes. You have to have courage to be intrepid.”
Speaking of fearless, Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently said in a company meeting “Optimus has the potential to be north of $10T in revenue”, and “this year, we hopefully will be able to make about 5,000 Optimus robots. We’re technically aiming for enough parts to make 10,000…I’ll say we’re succeeding if we get to half. But even 5,000 robots, that’s the size of a Roman Legion.”
Roman Legion indeed. They understood the power of the supply chains and the “new parts” needed to fuel their dominance. Same with Optimus, which will need millions of components to mimic humans, including hands with 22 degrees of freedom. Welcome to the machine.
Tesla Optimus Robots
Robot development will drive an American manufacturing boom, creating a wave of new sub-sectors and companies – big and small – that design and manufacture critical components. PBC Linear, a small, tech-enabled manufacturer that provides the actuators, motors, and other precision workings needed for automation and robots to operate with human-like dexterity, has been getting ready. At a recent event, CEO Bob Schroeder remarked on how this category will create a massive growth wave: “Humanoid Robots will drive a renaissance across precision component sectors, developing into multi-billion-dollar opportunities for American manufacturers. We have been investing heavily in and preparing to enable this rapidly emerging sector, gearing up for a more automated world fueled by AI.”
As societies have advanced and declined over the centuries, some were fortunate to be presented with revitalization opportunities. History teaches us lessons about building the future, from high tides lifting all boats (enabling America’s manufacturing renaissance) to burn the ships (creating new categories like APA). Times like these need bold leaders and builders who are focused on growth and prosperity for the greater good – with democratized opportunities for businesses of all shapes and sizes – not just industry big-dogs.
Let’s not look to AI as the next round of opportunistic tech hype, but as enabling a true renaissance that rivals the imagination and impact of any ancient wonder. These seven breakthroughs and associated organizations are not merely shaping industries, they are seizing an historic pivot point, laying the foundational building blocks for more companies and people to join this reboot – one marvel at a time.
