Here's are the four reasons behind my theory why Uber saw it's token costs spin out of control.
1. Users don't have a development plan. They say "Build this" -- and if successful will help the firm -- but with the vaguest of missions/goals, using the highest token consuming engine and then the model grinds and grinds and grinds, eventually providing some output that wasn't intended or was wildly off the mark the user imagined -- assuming the human actually KNEW before hand what was intended. So guess what happens next? The user yells "No, that's not what I want, I want this other thing"...which is equally poorly thought out.
And thus the cycle continues. And continues. And at the end of every conversation, which the user wrongly thinks is getting to the solution, the model says, "want me to do X?" And whether X is a good thing, not a good thing, or unnecessary, the user defaults to yes, and OFF WE GO!!
Vibe coding run amuck, in other words.
2. Users don't know how to write prompts and instructions using well reasoned, precisely phrased, thought through plain language English, and so the model infers, spits back stuff, stuff that isn't useful, and the cycle repeats over and over again.
3. Users employ the models on a whole bunch of non essential tasks, while the user cools his heels. Or they decide to do something with the engine that is 'cool" -- like spinning up a dozen agents to some non essential end, and the token cash register rings continuously.
4. Users like to chat with the models. The models are fun!! And so they chat. And chat. And chat some more. Water cooler conversations without the water cooler.
Other firms are sure to have the same experience, if they haven't already.
I was very surprised by the mathematician upheaval. I would like to learn more from them to empathize. Clearly I'm wrong, but I would have thought that solving these math problems that have never been solved or, in this case, disproving a longstanding proof would be incredibly exciting to the industry.
Still, questions remain: 1. will humans give over their self-sovereignty to ai political agents and their emergent societal protocols? And, 2., if so, how will humans remain in the inner most loop?
Here's are the four reasons behind my theory why Uber saw it's token costs spin out of control.
1. Users don't have a development plan. They say "Build this" -- and if successful will help the firm -- but with the vaguest of missions/goals, using the highest token consuming engine and then the model grinds and grinds and grinds, eventually providing some output that wasn't intended or was wildly off the mark the user imagined -- assuming the human actually KNEW before hand what was intended. So guess what happens next? The user yells "No, that's not what I want, I want this other thing"...which is equally poorly thought out.
And thus the cycle continues. And continues. And at the end of every conversation, which the user wrongly thinks is getting to the solution, the model says, "want me to do X?" And whether X is a good thing, not a good thing, or unnecessary, the user defaults to yes, and OFF WE GO!!
Vibe coding run amuck, in other words.
2. Users don't know how to write prompts and instructions using well reasoned, precisely phrased, thought through plain language English, and so the model infers, spits back stuff, stuff that isn't useful, and the cycle repeats over and over again.
3. Users employ the models on a whole bunch of non essential tasks, while the user cools his heels. Or they decide to do something with the engine that is 'cool" -- like spinning up a dozen agents to some non essential end, and the token cash register rings continuously.
4. Users like to chat with the models. The models are fun!! And so they chat. And chat. And chat some more. Water cooler conversations without the water cooler.
Other firms are sure to have the same experience, if they haven't already.
Throw back to April: Still viewing as Normal tech? Or technically uncharted territory?
https://knightcolumbia.org/content/ai-as-normal-technology
I was very surprised by the mathematician upheaval. I would like to learn more from them to empathize. Clearly I'm wrong, but I would have thought that solving these math problems that have never been solved or, in this case, disproving a longstanding proof would be incredibly exciting to the industry.
Still, questions remain: 1. will humans give over their self-sovereignty to ai political agents and their emergent societal protocols? And, 2., if so, how will humans remain in the inner most loop?
As observers, I imagine.