AI Security 2026 Predictions: The "Zombie Tool" Crisis & The Rise of AI Platforms

This is a forward-looking episode, as Ashish Rajan and Caleb Sima break down the 8 critical predictions shaping the future of AI security in 2026

We explore the impending "Age of Zombies", a crisis where thousands of unmaintainable, "vibe-coded" internal tools begin to rot as employees churn . We also unpack controversial theory about the "circular economy" of token costs, suggesting that major providers are artificially keeping prices high to avoid a race to the bottom .

The conversation dives deep into the shift from individual AI features to centralized AI Platforms , the reality of the Capability Plateau where models are getting "better but not different" , and the hilarious yet concerning story of Anthropic’s Claude not being able to operate a simple office vending machine without resorting to socialism or buying stun guns

Questions asked:

(00:00) Introduction: 2026 Predictions(02:50) Prediction 1: The Capability Plateau (Why models feel the same) (05:30) Consumer vs. Enterprise: Why OpenAI wins consumer, but Anthropic wins code (09:40) Prediction 2: The "Evil Conspiracy" of High AI Costs (12:50) Prediction 3: The Rise of the Centralized AI Platform Team (15:30) The "Free License" Trap: Microsoft Copilot & Enterprise fatigue (20:40) Prediction 4: Hyperscalers Shift from Features to Platforms (AWS Agents) (23:50) Prediction 5: Agent Hype vs. Reality (Netflix & Instagram examples) (27:00) Real-World Use Case: Auto-Fixing 1,000 Vulnerabilities in 2 Days (31:30) Prediction 6: Vibe Coding is Replacing Security Vendors (34:30) Prediction 7: Prompt Injection is Still the #1 Unsolved Threat (43:50) Prediction 8: The "Confused Deputy" Identity Problem (51:30) The "Zombie Tool" Crisis: Why Vibe Coded Tools will Rot (56:00) The Claude Vending Machine Failure: Why Operations are Harder than Code