Tokenmaxxing isn't an AI strategy
Before checking AI's price tag, see whether it fits What does AI cost? It's a simple question and an important one – the answer will determine the fate of companies and shape society. But it's also a question that can't be answered in a meaningful way without additional context.…
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AI + ML 2 Tokenmaxxing isn't an AI strategy 2 Before checking AI's price tag, see whether it fits Thomas Claburn Sun 26 Apr 2026 // 14:48 UTC What does AI cost? It's a simple question and an important one – the answer will determine the fate of companies and shape society. But it's also a question that can't be answered in a meaningful way without additional context. One possible response is "too much." US private AI investment reached $285.9 billion in 2025, according to Stanford HAI's 2026 Artificial Intelligence Index Report. That money has economic benefits but also adds stress to environmental resources, utilities, and communities. As the report states, "AI data center power capacity rose to 29.6 GW, comparable to New York state at peak demand, and annual GPT-4o inference water use alone may exceed the drinking water needs of 12 million people." <a href="https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ae5LkB6nwSkgaCfOevT0YwAAAJE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0" target="_blank"> <img src="https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ad?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ae5LkB6nwSkgaCfOevT0YwAAAJE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0" alt=""> </a> Then there's the cost to human competency, when skills atrophy or never develop due to overreliance on prompt slot machines. <a href="https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ae5LkB6nwSkgaCfOevT0YwAAAJE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0" target="_blank"> <img src="https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ad?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ae5LkB6nwSkgaCfOevT0YwAAAJE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D426raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0" alt=""> </a> <a href="https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ae5LkB6nwSkgaCfOevT0YwAAAJE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0" target="_blank"> <img src="https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ad?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/aiml&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ae5LkB6nwSkgaCfOevT0YwAAAJE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0" alt=""> </a> But that's difficult to measure over a short period of time. And given the current US administration's disinterest in regulatory restraint or public concern, it's perhaps easier to focus on the financial minutiae until government and industry can be forced to reckon with civic unease. You could start with the token, the basic unit for selling the input and output of AI models at the moment. The price of tokens has been much on the mind of developers using AI subscription plans because plan providers like Anthropic and GitHub have been pushing customers away from token-subsidized subscriptions toward pay-as-you-go consumption. <a…
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