this post was submitted on 25 May 2026
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[–] shuffle3765@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago) (4 children)

Firstly why would you pay API prices when you can use the subscription plans for 20x less

Secondly that much API spend would require dozens of senior engineers using it full time, like you'd be doing the work of an entire, quite large engineering team not a single junior

[–] SleeplessCityLights@programming.dev 5 points 29 minutes ago

They are changing the pricing plans to move away from the subscription model to a metered model. Beause operating at a loss is not a long term goal. People have no idea what July is going to be like, when MS changes Copilot to metered in June it's going to be bad. I checked the usage for my companies plan yesterday and we are going to be paying more. At least 2x. Good luck to the companies that are burning tokens as part of their business plan. Either they get massive bills and go broke, or lose access to Ai after 5 days.

[–] Jiral@lemmy.org 4 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

Currently, yes. However, if you build your business on highly subsidised temporary prices, you are probably like the CEOs that can't think further than their shareholders. If you believe there will be flat rates in the end I have a bridge to sell to you.

[–] RamenJunkie@midwest.social 5 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

Aren't some of the LLMs moving away from the unlimited token subscriptions since they are losing a ton of money?

I don't really follow that, I would neverpay for an LLM.

[–] itslilith@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 hour ago

Or it's "Unlimited" (rate limited)

[–] zalgotext@sh.itjust.works 8 points 2 hours ago

There's layers to the meme. It's also about how junior engineers are often overworked and underpaid.

[–] laz@lemmy.dbzer0.com 21 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Dude my nephew was telling me this an AI company galytix is literally running on Indian grads and claiming to be ai what a scam

[–] Nighed@feddit.uk 38 points 6 hours ago

AI: Actually Indians

[–] Formfiller@lemmy.world 14 points 8 hours ago

Is this AI jim?

[–] ozoned@piefed.social 61 points 11 hours ago (3 children)

Literally was in a presentation at work the other day where they said someone used 2 million tokens and the next person used 1 million and they were so excited by it.

I didn't get it. I asked went 2 million was better than 1 million. The VP basically said it's not, just costs us more money.

So why the hell is the presentation acting like it's a fucking victory?

[–] RamenJunkie@midwest.social 3 points 1 hour ago

Because AI use is up! The FUTURE!

[–] shuffle3765@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Because it's a proxy metric for adoption. Currently you generally want your engineers to be using it as much as you can afford to so that they all learn and improve and adapt existing processes etc

[–] deeves@lemmy.world 7 points 1 hour ago

Also, I've been noticing more and more APIs are adopting a policy where they get rid of any unused credits that you've paid for at the end of the month, creating a 'use it or lose it' FOMO mentality.

All very normal and sane.

[–] rainwall@piefed.social 37 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (3 children)

Because they believe that AI will replace payroll, which is generally a businesses highest expense. The more AI usage, the more likely they can eliminate jobs and give themselves bonuses.

They are excited the way a farmer is excited when his pigs are gorging themselves on grain and getting really, really fat. The farmer is glad to pay for grain because its much cheaper than the money he makes from selling them for meat.

They are giddy because its almost time for payday.

[–] MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 6 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

payroll, which is generally a businesses highest expense

This is something that changed in the industry; it was a investment back then.

[–] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 0 points 1 hour ago (2 children)

Huh, it's been an operating expense since, let me check, the dawn of business?

"Investing in" your employees doesn't make a ton of sense when they could just hop over to the next company after a year, much like loyalty in a company doesn't make sense. It's all a business transaction in the end so if you can get a better deal, you should.

The unfulfilled promise of AI is to reduce the expense to a minimum so the few remaining people can accomplish the same work. That's more of an investment than paying people to work for you until they find a better job ever was. In theory.

[–] 0tan0d@lemmy.world 2 points 24 minutes ago

Hi I suggest you crack open a history book and look at why ford didn't pay his employees in peanuts.

[–] Jiral@lemmy.org 2 points 56 minutes ago

I know, US style capitalism doesn't put much value in it but loyal emlpoyees can be a win for a company, but you only get them if the companies is rewarding that loyalty. The cost of having disposable employees is often extremely high. In the worst case not only a lot of informal knowledge and skill is lost but sooner or later it will end up with the competition, no matter the clauses in the contract.

[–] Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca 17 points 7 hours ago (2 children)

I wonder at what point government will tax AI use by companies similarly to payroll taxes and incomes taxes.

If they pay an AI company $150,000 a month to replace $50,000 in salaries, the government then loses all that income tax from the previous employees as well as the payroll tax on $600k a year.

[–] boonhet@sopuli.xyz 1 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

Uh they'll just claim the AI is being used in another country then?

There's really no way to definitively decide the tax jurisdiction of an AI agent.

Good luck figuring this one out without a tax on unrealized gains in companies and good luck figuring that one out for companies if they can just scheme around it by reinvesting all their profit indefinitely.

A complete ban on AI might be in order.

[–] 1984@lemmy.today 1 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago)

At some point capitalism will fail but it will take much longer than we think...

[–] 01189998819991197253@infosec.pub 28 points 12 hours ago

I don't understand the AI remake of Jim's face.

[–] TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world 136 points 17 hours ago (2 children)

At least some times Rohan gets it right, and they get it more right over time.

[–] Rooster326@programming.dev 62 points 16 hours ago (2 children)

Besides do you have any idea how many Rohan(s) we can afford at $150,000/month?

🔄

[–] _lilith@lemmy.world 39 points 16 hours ago (4 children)
[–] xtr0n@sh.itjust.works 19 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Total cost of employment is something like 140-160% of salary for a software dev. So my super handwavy half pulled out of my ass math puts it closer to 20 jr. engineers.

[–] fibojoly@sh.itjust.works 3 points 5 hours ago

In France it's more like 200%. minimum. Which is why our salaries are so shit when compared with US ones.

But the new trend is hiring interns which are much cheaper, work twice as hard, and come with tax deductions.

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[–] Maultasche@lemmy.world 26 points 14 hours ago

And Rohan will answer!

[–] zewm@lemmy.world 68 points 17 hours ago (3 children)

Is the face AI morphed or something? It looks uncanny valley weird.

[–] titty_wizard@lemmy.world 50 points 15 hours ago

Jim halpert looksmaxxing in 2026

Dasgustin

[–] bert_macklin_fbi@lemmy.world 33 points 16 hours ago

I don't think it registered until I read your comment. Maybe compression artifacts or something? Either way, I don't like it.

[–] ech@lemmy.ca 16 points 15 hours ago (2 children)
[–] Axolotl_cpp@feddit.it 2 points 2 hours ago

Maybe it's just me, but it look like poor compression

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Tokenmaxxing goes brrr

[–] jtrek@startrek.website 25 points 16 hours ago

We should unionize and eat the useless managers.

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