---
title: "Five races: what it means · The AI Compute Race · DRYBURGH"
source: https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/five-races
description: "Five races: The five places on the chain where the binding constraint can sit, also called the five races: capability, capacity, value…"
---

# Five races

What does “Five races” mean?

Five racesSee five contests; the chapters say contests, and the Introduction names the fifth race, consent.

[Five contests](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/five-contests) The five places on the chain where the binding constraint can sit, also called the five races: capability, capacity, value, sovereignty and consent, coupled so that any one, binding hard enough, holds back the other four. *The Introduction.*

From *The AI Compute Race*. [Read the book](https://dryburgh.com/vol1#buy)

Defined in [Prologue — Every Seven Weeks](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/notes/prologue).

## Also discussed in

- Page [The Compute Economy](https://dryburgh.com/)

## Related terms

- [Five contests](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/five-contests)
- [Consent](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary/consent)

From the glossary of The AI Compute Race.

- [Campuses](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/ledger)
- [Tests](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/tests)
- [Scorecard](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/scorecard)
- [Data](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/data/releases)
- [Chapter by chapter](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/companion)
- [The record at a glance](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/observatory)
- [The machine](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/machine)
- [One campus, four futures](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/hyperion)
- [Glossary](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/glossary)
- [People](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/people)
- [Sources](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/sources)
- [Notes](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/notes)
- [Where the book was wrong](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/corrections)
- [Where its sources were wrong](https://dryburgh.com/corrections?book=vol1)
- [The Paper](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/paper)
- [Consent](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/consent)
- [Who builds and pays](https://dryburgh.com/vol1/parties)

*The AI Compute Race: Five Races, One Machine* is a book by Lee S. Dryburgh, the first volume of THE COMPUTE ECONOMY, published by Dryburgh, an imprint of Contestra OÜ, Tallinn, Estonia; its record closes on 8 November 2026.

[About the book](https://dryburgh.com/vol1)[Tell me when it is out](https://dryburgh.com/vol1#notify)