AI economics: rise of machines’ token use could work to advantage of Chinese models
The global artificial intelligence boom recently crossed a landmark threshold: autonomous agents now consume more than five times as much data as human users, triggering a surge in processing costs that is giving lower-priced Chinese models a competitive edge, according to analysts. Unlike traditional chatbots that simply respond to human prompts, these agents operate independently to execute…
The surge in autonomous agents' token consumption, surpassing five times that of human users, is creating a competitive advantage for Chinese models, according to analysts. Unlike traditional chatbots, these AI agents perform independent, multi-step tasks, such as software development, research, and business management. Each assignment triggers a chain of automated model calls, significantly increasing token usage, which is now 14 times higher than six months ago.
This trend is projected to continue as models become more capable and expand into new areas. To manage costs, companies are employing "model routing," directing simple tasks to more affordable models while reserving expensive, high-performance models for intricate reasoning. This cost-conscious approach may benefit Chinese open-weight models, which are more budget-friendly than leading models like OpenAI's GPT-5.6 Sol and Anthropic's Claude Fable 5.1.
However, widespread agent adoption may face challenges, as agents could outpace human verification of their outputs, changing the bottleneck from AI processing speed to human oversight.
Written by urgent.news from SCMP Tech's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
