World model tiering resembles that pre-planned autonomous driving controversy

Back when autonomous driving introduced the L0 to L5 classification system, the industry argued about it for a solid three years. Some said the tiers were just a way to hoodwink investors; others said without them, we couldn't even get on the same page. The result? The classification became the industry's standard coordinate system. People kept complaining verbally, but their actions spoke honestly. When Shengshu Tech proposed the five-stage development roadmap for general world models at WRC this time, my first reaction was exactly that. Let's set aside whether each stage is accurately defined for now—at least someone dared to chop up the overused term "world model" into steps that can actually be aligned.