It is modern to start an article with the statement that it was written by a human, so this one is written by myself on the Remarkable by my hand.
Interestingly, it’s about AI without AI.
Testing automation tool N8N, I had to enter an API key for ChatGPT, the AI of choice for the given task. I have to say that I have got great results and I have concluded that AI is a great companion for performing tedious and repeating tasks.
And that’s where the statement “Devil is in detail” is fully applicable. The use of AI comes at a cost, a significant cost.
So, how is this cost calculated and evaluated? By tokens, which are a “magic currency” calculated without any rules, or better to say without known rules.
And here we go: Tokens are a new currency.
So the question is how to correctly calculate the value of one token? Should the value of a token be regulated?
Currently, we don’t even know the value of one token, as it heavily depends on where you use it — with ChatGPT, Claude, or whatever platform you use. One query can cost five tokens; another almost identical one might cost hundreds of tokens.
How to evaluate what we will get for the value of one token?
We can have many views on it; however, we need to reach a consensus, a.k.a. a social contract, considering that AI machines were trained also on publicly available, society-created data and knowledge. On the other end, we have to admit that many companies built the data centres and teams to engineer and program these amazing machines.
So to conclude, we need to resolve and find an answer to the following questions:
What is an AI token and what is its fair value?
What can you get for one token, for the price of one token? Is there an algorithm to calculate the price of your query?
Peaceful coexistence of humans and AI requires a well-defined social contract that ensures benefits and responsibilities are shared on both sides. So is a token a new kind of currency? Is a token part of public space?
I believe the answer lies in proper definitions and clear legal frameworks. This will clarify our relationship with AI, reduce fear, and calm emotions.
We humans created an extraordinary tool; we have advanced far. Let’s not destroy it — let’s learn how to live with our own creation in peace.
AI is like many other products we are already using. Every product exists thanks to thousands of small breakthroughs: bits of code, inventions like transistors, advances in materials, and millions of experiments. AI is merely the next useful “thing” emerging from that same evolutionary process.
AI is connecting the dots and lifting us to an entirely new level — it expands our knowledge and enhances the capabilities of every individual. It brings together the knowledge of thousands of humans, extends our understanding, and sets us free.
AI is the tool that moves civilisation to the next level.
