economics
13 posts
- OpenAI paused the $200 ChatGPT tier because demand exceeded its compute
OpenAI paused new $200 ChatGPT Pro sign-ups after unprecedented Astra demand strained its infrastructure, keeping other plans available while it adds capacity.
- What expert AI-training work asks a professional to pass on
James Maisiri’s account describes an offer to train AI in teaching and assessment, the judgement that work draws on, and the choices it creates for professionals.
- Why OpenAI’s chief scientist wants shared limits on AI development
Jakub Pachocki expects AI to drive more of its own development. His essay explains why alignment, monitoring and coordinated slowdowns must accompany it.
- Nvidia confirmed the Hugging Face deal and promised its compute stays optional
A week ago the acquisition was an unconfirmed report. Jensen Huang has now announced it himself, at $12,930,300,000, and committed that Nvidia compute will not be required to use Hugging Face.
- World models could widen the AI divide before they improve ordinary work
World models are far behind language models in deployment evidence, and their development could concentrate further. Businesses will be offered physics-aware systems before anyone can show they work.
- Nvidia may buy Hugging Face. Here is why that matters.
Nobody has confirmed a deal. What the report shows is where value is accumulating — the company that dominates AI hardware moving closer to the place developers go to find open models.
- Does the AI Capital Spend Actually Pencil Out?
$1.3 trillion sunk, $2 trillion in new revenue needed to break even, and none of it tells you whether the tool you're paying for this week is earning its keep. Two different questions.
- SoN 2.26: The best AI models are getting harder to get
Tales from the Workbench =================================================== Some weeks the newsletter is one idea worked all the way through when…
- SoN 2.17: You Can't Cost-Reduce Yourself to Greatness (Free Edition)
You Can't Cost-Reduce Yourself to Greatness (Free Edition) I caught a Seth Godin interview at the beginning of the week and one line in particular…
- Cloudflare Collapsed 2,500 API Endpoints Into 2 MCP Tools. Token Economics Matter.
Cloudflare's Code Mode demonstrates that MCP server design isn't about exposing more tools—it's about exposing fewer, smarter ones.
- SoN Vol 2, Issue 3: The Metric Mandate
Dear Reader, The most common answer to “What’s the goal of this AI project?” is depressingly consistent: “To improve efficiency.” …and that’s not a…
- SoN 31: The AI Productivity Treadmill
December 4th, 2025 Dear Reader, Claude Opus 4.5 dropped last week, and I haven’t stopped building since. I’ve connected half a dozen MCP servers to…
- 💾 The Download #008: Blogging in 2025, the homogenisation of online content and testing out a cool new AI app for iPad.
#008 Dear Reader, Greetings from @30,000 feet. As I start this final newsletter of the year, I’m returning from a short trip to London, visiting…