AI Subscriptions: A Fast Ship on a Sinking Business Model

In his recent piece [*AI Subscriptions Get Short-Squeezed*](https://ethanding.substack.com/p/ai-subscriptions-get-short-squeezed), Ethan Ding delivers a sharp reality check on the economics of today’s AI startups. The dream was that models would get cheaper and margins would follow. The reality is the opposite. Yes, token costs have dropped. But every time a new model is released, like ChatGPT 5, it becomes the default. Users are not choosing to upgrade. They are being pushed to the most expensive model with no real alternative. Companies are setting the top-tier model as the only choice while still pricing access like it is 2023. At the same time, AI usage is changing. Simple chats are being replaced by long compute-heavy workflows. That $20 per month plan cannot support this kind of usage. Claude Code tried higher prices and smarter scaling, but even their $200 plan collapsed under the load. Too many AI startups are jumping onto a fast ship without checking if it can stay afloat. This is not the chip race of the 90s. Cost improvements are real, but usage is outpacing them fast. Without a shift to usage-based pricing or smarter business models, this entire category is on track for a margin collapse. Credit to Ethan Ding for highlighting this clearly. Full article: [AI Subscriptions Get Short-Squeezed](https://ethanding.substack.com/p/ai-subscriptions-get-short-squeezed)

OpenAI’s Commerce Layer: Quiet Feature, Big Power Move

OpenAI just confirmed it will take a cut of product sales made directly inside ChatGPT. On the surface, it looks like a modest feature. In reality, it is a structural shift in how platforms monetize intent. Here is how:

Instead of pushing users to websites or relying on ad clicks, ChatGPT will host the entire transaction flow. The user stays in the conversation. The product appears because it fits. And OpenAI takes a cut.

If this sounds familiar, it should. Apple turned distribution into a tollbooth. Google turned search into an auction. Imagine if Google had not only taken your ad dollars but also demanded a percentage of every sale you made from that ad. That is the direction OpenAI is pointing toward. Discovery, recommendation, and transaction all happen in one place and OpenAI owns the frame.

OpenAI is doing something different but potentially more powerful. It is collapsing the entire discovery to purchase journey into one interface it controls. No links. No clicks. Just context, trust, and conversion. This is not just a new revenue model. It is a new kind of platform dominance and it will feel just like a conversation where the user clicks a button to say yes to buying, like Amazon's one click but even more natural.This is not just commerce, it is platform consolidation with a conversational mask.

See the article here

#AI #OpenAI #Commerce #PlatformPower #Search #ProductDiscovery #Strategy #DigitalEconomy

Human Beats AI at Coding – But What If It Was You vs the Bot?

In a 10-hour showdown, elite programmer Przemysław Dębiak ("Psyho") outperformed a custom OpenAI model in AtCoder’s World Tour Finals. But before we celebrate a human victory, let’s ask a harder question: Would a typical developer stand a chance and how good is Psyho?

The Context
Psyho isn’t just any developer. He’s a former OpenAI engineer and a world-class competitive coder with years of experience solving extreme algorithmic puzzles. He’s a statistical outlier, the kind of talent most companies might never encounter or afford. Was it a representative competition of real world every day coders? No.

What If It Were You?
The real concern is this: could someone fresh from a coding bootcamp, junior dev team, or even mid-level software job perform as well against AI? Most likely not. The AI model, though it lost demonstrated relentless optimization, efficiency, and speed that outpaces average human coding ability, especially in repetitive or rules-based tasks. 

Implications
Elite coders are rare, and most of today’s tech workforce won’t match their skills. - AI tools are advancing quickly, closing the gap in practical business development tasks. 

The Bottom Line
This wasn’t a general win for humanity, it was a victory for an elite coder. For the rest of us, the outcome would likely be very different. 

The best path forward in my opinion: Learn to partner with AI, not beat it. Collaboration, not competition, is the future and AI can supercharge productivity, but human judgment, creativity, and oversight are still irreplaceable.