Language Is Poison, Part 3: Everyone Is Heading to the Same Place

Five companies, five definitions, one term. The convergence on “world model” masks a deeper disagreement about what intelligence requires.

This deep-dive series explores a seven-hour interview with Saining Xie, hosted by Xiaojun Zhang in February 2026. To better convey the depth and ideas of the conversation, I have reorganized the narrative, added background context, and clarified some of the more technical points.