Fuel Crisis Exposed a New AI-Era Phenomenon: Dozens of Identical Services in One Week

In late June and early July 2026, a gasoline shortage in several Russian regions triggered an unexpected technological phenomenon: over ten people independently created nearly identical services to track gas station queues in just seven days—all using AI assistants, without professional software development backgrounds.

What appeared in seven days

When queues at gas stations in several regions stretched for hours, different people arrived at the same solution: create a map or bot to monitor fuel availability. Each was convinced they were first. Each used a language model—Claude, ChatGPT, or similar—to assemble a working prototype in hours. The result was unexpected: by week's end, over ten nearly identical products existed online.

Key facts:

• More than 10 independent services appeared in 7 days
• Interface, functionality, and creation story—nearly identical
• Creators were unaware of each other's existence
• State regulators publicly commented on the situation
• Online theories emerged about "cloning" or coordinated campaigns

The synchronized launch alarmed some: it seemed implausible that independent people created almost the same thing in one week.

Why did this happen now?

Sociologists described the phenomenon of convergent invention centuries ago: when conditions ripen, different people independently arrive at the same solution. Newton and Leibniz developed calculus in parallel. Bell and Gray filed telephone patent applications on the same day. Darwin and Wallace independently formulated the theory of natural selection.

Historically, this phenomenon concerned scientists and engineers with rare knowledge. The barrier to entry in software development—specialized skills, years of education, production capacity—prevented it from manifesting in the masses.

Today, AI tools have removed the main barrier: any person with a laptop can create a functional web service by spending hours in dialogue with a language model. The consequence is clear: "parallel invention" has transcended academic elites. In a crisis situation, the same product is created not by one startup but simultaneously by dozens of people. And for the first time in history, this parallelism becomes visible in real time.

Reaction: from conspiracy theories to regulators

Analysts who noticed service similarities initially suspected an organized campaign or viral marketing. State regulators publicly responded to the situation—apparently viewing the synchronous launch of multiple similar products as something requiring explanation or response.

The researcher believes the real explanation is both simpler and more interesting: what occurred is a manifestation of a long-known social phenomenon, but on a fundamentally new scale. This form lacks an established term yet—neither in sociology nor in innovation theory.

What does this mean?

The gasoline crisis accidentally revealed a new consequence of the AI revolution: in acute situations, hundreds of people can now simultaneously create the same solution. This changes the familiar logic of "first mover"—speed to market ceases to be a competitive advantage if everyone can start simultaneously.

Neither market nor regulators have yet adapted to this reality.