Data, Not Compute: The Next AI Bottleneck

For years, we've misinterpreted the Bitter Lesson; it's not about compute, but data. Increasing GPUs requires a 40% data increase, otherwise it's wasted resources. The internet's data is nearing saturation. The future lies in 'alchemists' (high-risk, high-reward data generation) and 'architects' (steadily improving model architecture), not just compute. The article analyzes the pros, cons, and risks of both paths, concluding that solving data scarcity in 2025 will determine AI company survival in 2026.