AI does it’s getting expensiveand some companies are downsizing use in an attempt to reduce costs. This group includes Uber, which recently introduced internal usage restrictions to reduce excessive AI costs.
Bloomberg reports the company implemented a new rule that places a $1,500 monthly cap on each employee and agent coding tool, including Anthropic’s Claude Code or Cursor. The company says usage can be tracked using an internal dashboard that every employee has access to, though caps can be exceeded with permission in some cases.
The news is perhaps not so surprising, because in April the company’s technical director revealed the ride-sharing giant blew through its entire annual AI budget in four months. This comes after Uber encouraged employees to use AI “as much as possible” and even competitively ranked its use internally on internal leaderboards. previously reported.
So does Uber CEO Andrew McDonald recently raised doubts On AI’s impact on productivity, it’s “very hard to draw a line” between the use of artificial intelligence and new consumer features during a podcast appearance.
Uber’s downsizing raises a broader issue facing the tech industry right now: As businesses pour money into artificial intelligence, where exactly is the return on investment? Indeed, AI ROI has so far remained one it is mainly a theoretical phenomenon What everyone hopes will eventually come true – although some companies are getting a little anxious while they wait.
