Grayscale Research Chief Says Cheaper AI May Increase Compute Demand

Zach Pandl, Grayscale’s research chief, said lower-cost artificial intelligence could expand usage enough to increase demand for the computing capacity and physical infrastructure needed to run it. In an Oct. 8 column, Pandl said falling token prices and more capable software could make additional applications and automated workflows economically viable. Competition from open-weight models is also pushing down AI costs. Pandl distinguished between chatbots, which primarily answer questions, and AI agents, which complete multiple steps to achieve a goal. Preparing for a customer meeting, for example, can consume five to 50 times as many tokens as a single chat interaction.

Source: TokenPost