I don't like using AI. I don't find it particularly helpful. But my employer insists that we use it and tracks metrics so I make sure to give it pointless busywork daily. That way I show as using it even if it causes more problems than it fixes.
Uber’s COO says it’s getting harder to justify money spent on tokenmaxxing
331–340 of 360 posts
Re: Uber’s COO says it’s getting harder to justify money spent on tokenmaxxing
#332At what point might it be cheaper to, say, hire a human?
Re: Uber’s COO says it’s getting harder to justify money spent on tokenmaxxing
#333Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is so cool, I have my own fan on HN that cherry picks my comment history to call me a shill!
You could have easily disproved my claim by linking your comments with a more balanced or nuanced opinions on the matter, except you cannot, because there is only even more outlandish and wild stuff you say about AI and LLMs.
Every time I've tried to engage you in debate you just call me a shill so there's no point. Love ya too though!
Re: Uber’s COO says it’s getting harder to justify money spent on tokenmaxxing
#334If any company announces that they use token consumption as an employee performance signal, for me that's close to a red flag to stay away from that company. No company with good engineering leadership should act like this is remotely a good idea.
I worked at a YC company that was doing this and left last month. I wonder where this all started from, VCs and tech execs are such a monoculture
The where may be the decision makers chasing social media trends. A friend sent me a link to this, this morning, about devs rather than managers, but I suspect it's the same: https://youtu.be/IW3Sbe0Hbgg
Re: Uber’s COO says it’s getting harder to justify money spent on tokenmaxxing
#335Earlier quoted context omitted.
Can you provide an example? What is different about running Uber services in Chicago vs. Indianapolis?
Vegas: ordering a tax "to a hotel" - hotels have different entrances, pickup / dropoff there during crazy times is hard. Uber UI for Vegas is unique / some features are designed to make it easier for driver and passanger to find each other Airports: different regulations, different rules for pickup/dropoff. Also scammers who pretend to be in a car, walk with their phones around pick-up ares in airport and do bait-and…
Additionally each city often has their own fares they impose, restrictions / etc
Re: Uber’s COO says it’s getting harder to justify money spent on tokenmaxxing
#336Earlier quoted context omitted.
Meta does this. Guess what one of the criteria for their recent layoffs was.
Meta tracks token consumption, but has explicitly stated that it is not a primary performance metric. Instead, employees are evaluated on "impact."
Famously honest and on-the-level company Meta, who we can parrot the word of uncritically and unquestioningly.
Re: Uber’s COO says it’s getting harder to justify money spent on tokenmaxxing
#337It's amazing that it took months to figure this out. "Well we thought that if engineers are told to maximize costs through AI use, to consume as much as possible of a resource that costs us money, then obviously good things will happen. Imagine my surprise when it didn't turn out that way." Imagine if engineers were ranked based on their AWS spend. People allocate VMs and fill databases with terabytes of random bits,…
The point of this was always to explore what is possible with AI as quickly as possible. Obviously, there is going to be a lot of waste, but the 5-10% of employees who are truly thinking about it and discovering novel applications are what you are truly after. Because right now, you effectively have a giant, as of yet poorly explored space of potential uses. Anyone who can find the actually valuable portions of the s…
> The point of this was always to explore what is possible with AI as quickly as possible.
If that was the intent, the messaging at many companies failed to communicate that. The message was "increase this metric", not "explore this space".
Re: Uber’s COO says it’s getting harder to justify money spent on tokenmaxxing
#338Earlier quoted context omitted.
It depends on which people you're referring to. The allocation toward AI budget has been so massive that I think a lot of businesses are way behind on trying to assess value for dollar for the AI-related crud they're shelling out for.
Everyone is feeling it out but the vast majority of spend has been subscription based. Some outliers may have used a massive amount of tokens but companies didn't pay for that. That VC funded gravy train is likely coming to an end. But fortunately there are also reasonably efficient models now so that the tokenmaxxers can still make the (much cheaper) tokens go brrrr.
Those reasonably efficient models assume you use a harness that supports them well, the one size fits all harness of Claude desktop or codex does not support what you want well, and that’s intentional. It’s contradictory that these AI companies will continue to brrrr to the moon and return on AI spend requires discipline…
Re: Uber’s COO says it’s getting harder to justify money spent on tokenmaxxing
#339Earlier quoted context omitted.
It depends on which people you're referring to. The allocation toward AI budget has been so massive that I think a lot of businesses are way behind on trying to assess value for dollar for the AI-related crud they're shelling out for.
The next recession (and there's always a next recession) will clean up this AI bubble. The actually useful products and companies will make it the rest goes down.
Yes, but unlike the dot com bubble we’ll be left with half finished (or not even started) abandoned data center projects, instead of reasonably reusable fiber and ISP infra
Re: Uber’s COO says it’s getting harder to justify money spent on tokenmaxxing
#340If any company announces that they use token consumption as an employee performance signal, for me that's close to a red flag to stay away from that company. No company with good engineering leadership should act like this is remotely a good idea.
As I have snarkily observed at work: if I go $100 over the meal allowance on my business trip, I'll have to have an unpleasant conversation with my manager or finance. If I use $500 in AI tokens unproductively I'll be recognized for being a top AI adopter.
I have seen this type of behavior happen many times in different companies.
For example, at more than one company I've worked for, if you wrote shitty code but got it into "testing" faster than anybody else, you are considered a superior programmer. And then, if you fixed the hundreds of bugs found in your code seen as an extraordinary programmer going above and beyond the call of duty.
Management is always measuring the wrong thing.