AI Costs More Than the People It Replaced

The tech industry faces a paradoxical crisis: companies shedding human jobs to invest in AI tools that currently cost more than the workers they replace. Major players like Uber and Microsoft report exorbitant AI spending, budgets exhausted rapidly, and little correlation to tangible value. This "tokenmaxxing" culture, where AI usage is incentivized over actual productivity, fuels massive waste. Despite widespread layoffs justified by AI reallocation, studies indicate AI is economically viable in only a fraction of roles. The unsustainable model of subsidized AI pricing is unwinding, forcing a market correction. The industry must shift from indiscriminate spending to architecting efficient, AI-native solutions that prove their worth, or risk a significant bubble burst.