Forbes · Jul 2
AI costs more than the people it replaced
Uber burned its entire 2026 AI coding budget in four months after 84 percent of its engineers adopted AI tools, and Microsoft ordered a division off an AI coding assistant over untenable bills. An MIT study cited in the piece finds AI automation is cheaper than the humans it replaces in only about 23 percent of roles.
▸ The MSP Angle
Why are AI costs blowing past budgets, and how do you stop it?
Runaway AI spend just became a documented enterprise problem, and SMBs will repeat it at smaller scale with far less cushion. Usage budgets, spend caps, and per-tool visibility are a sellable managed service right now. The MSPs who meter AI before the first blowout invoice will look prescient; the ones who don't will be explaining the bill.