AI Token Costs May Exceed Engineers' Salaries
luisdans · x · 2026-07-15
The shared article argues that:
- By the end of 2026, AI token spending per employee is expected to surpass the average salary cost of a software engineer.
- The author emphasizes that AI isn't simply "replacing human labor" but shifting the cost structure to a new paradigm where humans might actually become cheaper than software.
- The article also suggests a broader prediction: AI might create more jobs than it eliminates.
Related event: a16z-shared Hebbia CEO essay: humans are now cheaper than software(9 posts)→
More from AGI Musings
- Accelerationist fires back at AI doomers: beliefs aren't arguments — Dan_Jeffries1 · 2026-09-11
- "ChatGPT 6 Makes Workers with IQ Below 130 Useless": French AI Debate Sparks Backlash — mitchdeg · 2026-09-11
- 'AGI is here' vs reality: AI labs still ship some of the jankiest desktop apps ever — MilesCranmer · 2026-09-11
- Harry Collins: LLMs can't do frontier science because they can't invent new language — whoamisri · 2026-09-11
- The Waymo effect: how AI is quietly making research less collaborative — JohnHammersley · 2026-09-11
- Misquoted: Anthropic Staff Warned of Double-Digit Extinction Risk by 2030, Not Dismissed It — davidmanheim · 2026-09-11