Sorry, do you have $20? (why don't we pay for AI?)

All recent studies in Israel and worldwide show that most of the population, even the younger generation, has not truly migrated to an AI work environment despite all the buzz, posts, headlines, and investments. Most of the population isn't there.

The entry fee to a significant work environment (currently a ChatGPT4 subscription) is only $20 per month. And this is likely the main barrier, as the free versions are exploited to the fullest with billions of accesses per month, and here we do see a dramatic impact based on age.

And yes, I am aware of OpenAI's offer to give everyone access to the advanced model, but this is just a taste, and the goal is, of course, for you to purchase a subscription.

So why not? Is it the $20 per month (one family pizza + drink)? I think the gap lies in several points:

1. Habit: We are used to basic and useful digital tools that do not cost us money. From Google search through email, news sites, YouTube, social networks, and WhatsApp, everything is "free" (it is not free, by the way, we just pay in a different currency. Privacy, exposure to ads, selective information, and others).
2. The AI revolution came for free: The launch of models from the end of 2022 to today, including thousands of tools developed during this period, is presented to us for free. We got used to that too. When a tool requires payment, we move to another one.
3. Most uses are casual: What do you do with a language model? From manufacturers' demonstrations to network influencers, the common uses are casual and not dramatic for our lives. Writing a song, a story, planning a trip, thinking of new ideas. Never a continuous and full process like learning a new language or starting a business over time. So why buy a license for it?
4. We managed just fine without a language model: The gap here is significant, especially for older populations who do not see the technological miracle as something beyond a gimmick. Those who try something substantial for them often do so with a free model, get disappointed, and abandon it.

And what about our work environment? Currently, organizations (except tech companies) avoid AI in its current and commercial versions. So even there, AI is a gimmick and certainly not an integrated tool in the daily work environment of most of us.

So what will happen? When will the revolution land here? First, it won't land in a single moment, it's a process, and we are only at its beginning. Adoption will eventually be thoughtful, considering value versus cost on a personal, organizational, and national level. The capabilities of GenAI are already entering familiar tools and will become routine through familiar processes like writing a document or a presentation.

The big change, in my opinion, will come through mobile phones. This is how the UX revolution, social networks, navigation, and digital commerce came. Operating systems and every common action on the phone will work based on AI, and just as we got used to swiping the screen with our fingers since 2007 (before that, there were only fixed plastic buttons), we will get used to talking to the phone, listening to its advice, and conducting a meaningful dialogue.

In the meantime, skip one pizza (it's also unhealthy) and buy a subscription. It will change your life and mainly bring you closer to the next version of human-machine relations on our planet.