{"id":113477,"date":"2026-10-01T11:17:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T11:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/?post_type=podcast&#038;p=113477"},"modified":"2026-10-01T11:17:12","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T11:17:12","slug":"the-hidden-costs-of-ai-and-who-ends-up-paying-them","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/podcasts\/the-hidden-costs-of-ai-and-who-ends-up-paying-them\/","title":{"rendered":"The hidden costs of AI (and who ends up paying them)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"mb-2xl\">\n            <button data-youtube-url=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xBoRkK0mbBE?si=K5QM1Lyv1f_tkHzx\" id=\"podcastModalButton\" class=\"relative aspect-[16\/9] bg-gray-900 flex items-center justify-center flex-col gap-md w-full p-md\">\n                            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/The-hidden-costs-of-AI-1024x576.png\" class=\"object-cover absolute inset-0 w-full h-full wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/The-hidden-costs-of-AI-1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/The-hidden-costs-of-AI-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/The-hidden-costs-of-AI-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/The-hidden-costs-of-AI.png 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>                        <svg class=\"w-12 h-auto absolute m-auto text-base-white\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" viewBox=\"0 0 20 20\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n                <path d=\"M10 0C3.5 0 0 3.5 0 10C0 16.5 3.5 20 10 20C16.5 20 20 16.5 20 10C20 3.5 16.5 0 10 0ZM11.47 12.71C10.08 13.51 8.64 14.11 7.25 14.5C7.06 13.13 6.95 11.61 6.95 10C6.95 8.39 7.06 6.87 7.25 5.5C8.64 5.89 10.08 6.49 11.47 7.29C12.86 8.09 14.06 9.02 15.05 10C14.07 10.98 12.87 11.9 11.47 12.71Z\" fill=\"currentColor\" \/>\n            <\/svg>\n\n        <\/button>\n    \n    <dialog id=\"podcastModal\" class=\"\">\n        <div class=\"bg-base-black bg-opacity-80 fixed inset-0 z-10 h-full w-full max-w-full max-h-full flex items-center justify-center\">\n            <div class=\"mx-auto relative w-full container\">\n                <div class=\"flex overflow-hidden rounded-xs bg-base-black\">\n                    <div class=\"relative aspect-[16\/9] w-full\">\n                        <iframe loading=\"lazy\" id=\"podcastYoutubeVideo\" class=\"absolute inset-0 w-full h-full\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n                <button id=\"closeModalButton\" class=\"absolute -top-12 -right-0 w-auto h-12 flex items-center justify-center\">\n                    <svg class=\"w-8 h-8\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" viewBox=\"0 0 20 20\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n                        <path d=\"M10 0C3.5 0 0 3.5 0 10C0 16.5 3.5 20 10 20C16.5 20 20 16.5 20 10C20 3.5 16.5 0 10 0ZM13.37 11.95C13.89 12.47 14.4 12.98 14.91 13.65C14.77 13.88 14.59 14.11 14.38 14.32C14.16 14.54 13.9 14.75 13.65 14.91C13.06 14.43 12.51 13.91 11.96 13.36L10.01 11.41L8.06 13.36C7.54 13.88 7.03 14.39 6.36 14.9C6.13 14.76 5.9 14.58 5.69 14.37C5.47 14.15 5.26 13.89 5.1 13.64C5.58 13.05 6.1 12.5 6.65 11.95L8.6 10L6.65 8.05C6.13 7.53 5.62 7.02 5.11 6.35C5.25 6.12 5.43 5.89 5.64 5.68C5.86 5.46 6.12 5.25 6.37 5.09C6.96 5.57 7.51 6.09 8.06 6.64L10.01 8.59L11.96 6.64C12.48 6.12 12.99 5.61 13.66 5.1C13.89 5.24 14.12 5.42 14.33 5.63C14.55 5.85 14.76 6.11 14.92 6.36C14.44 6.95 13.92 7.5 13.37 8.05L11.42 10L13.37 11.95Z\" fill=\"white\" \/>\n                    <\/svg>\n                <\/button>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/dialog>\n    \n            <div class=\"flex flex-wrap gap-4 items-center mt-3xl\">\n            <p class=\"mb-0 leading-tight font-bold\">Listen on:<\/p>\n            <div class=\"flex flex-wrap gap-xl\">\n                                    <a class=\"duration-200 hover:opacity-70\" href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/2JbXRCeMpnMuTr2sIKKY2E\" target=\"_blank\">\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"h-10 w-auto max-w-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-content\/themes\/simple-talk-theme-2024\/assets\/images\/sharing\/spotify-podcast.png?v=2\" alt=\"Listen on Spotify\">\n                    <\/a>\n                                                                    <a class=\"duration-200 hover:opacity-70\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.libsyn.com\/537157\/the-hidden-costs-of-ai-and-who-ends-up-paying-them\" target=\"_blank\">\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"h-10 w-auto max-w-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-content\/themes\/simple-talk-theme-2024\/assets\/images\/sharing\/libsyn-podcast.png?v=2\" alt=\"Listen on Libsyn\">\n                    <\/a>\n                                                    <a class=\"duration-200 hover:opacity-70 flex-shrink-0\" href=\"https:\/\/music.amazon.com\/podcasts\/bb23354a-9850-428f-9cb3-83235ef279c6\/episodes\/0881ae04-29e3-4dbc-be33-bf95c82e6d23\/simple-talks-the-hidden-costs-of-ai-and-who-ends-up-paying-them\" target=\"_blank\">\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"h-10 w-auto max-w-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-content\/themes\/simple-talk-theme-2024\/assets\/images\/sharing\/amazon-podcast.png?v=2\" alt=\"Listen on Amazon Music\">\n                    <\/a>\n                            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    \n    <\/div>\n\n\n<p>AI budgets are escalating rapidly, yet few teams measure the value of their spend \u2013 and who ends up paying, anyway? <strong>Steve Jones<\/strong>, <strong>Grant Fritchey<\/strong>, <strong>Kellyn Gorman<\/strong>, and <strong>Pat Wright<\/strong> discuss that and more. Also on the agenda: LLMs, data centers, regulation, and what happens to the next generation of engineers if they never learn to solve problems the hard way&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Listen or watch to every episode of the Redgate Simple Talk podcast at\u00a0<br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/podcasts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/podcasts\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Don&#8217;t have time to listen in full? Here are the <strong>10 key takeaways<\/strong> from the episode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-real-cost-of-ai-10-key-takeaways\">The real cost of AI: 10 key takeaways<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. AI budgets have a way of landing on the database team<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A fully cloud-embedded <a href=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/databases\/postgresql\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">PostgreSQL<\/a> shop pushed <em>hard<\/em> into <a href=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/ai\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AI<\/a> from 2023 and, when total AI spend eventually outgrew the budget, nobody asked for <em>less<\/em> AI. Instead, the database team was asked to find savings to pay for it. Here, <strong>the<\/strong> <strong>cost sits in the cloud<\/strong> &#8211; not in PostgreSQL licensing. <strong>Nothing is free<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. The &#8220;just use it&#8221; era is ending<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Many companies are told to move as fast as possible on AI, so maximize discounts and free <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.nvidia.com\/blog\/ai-tokens-explained\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AI token<\/a> allowances until they run out. After that, the <strong>monthly bill becomes painful<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Token counts are a poor measure of productivity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Some organizations &#8216;gamify&#8217; token usage, treating it as a proxy for how much work people get done. Then comes the whiplash: <em>&#8220;stop using so many tokens, it&#8217;s too expensive!&#8221;<\/em> The highest token users at Redgate are sales reps (and it&#8217;s not even close) &#8211; proving that <strong>heavy AI token usage doesn&#8217;t map neatly onto any one role<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Few teams weigh token spend against value<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The Advocates rarely see anyone <em>deciding<\/em> that a task is worth what it costs in tokens. For example, are AI-generated daily reports &#8211; costing about 80 cents each &#8211; worth keeping? <strong>Save AI for work it can genuinely <em>accelerate<\/em>, and use a plain search for quick questions<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. If you can&#8217;t show the return, consider a simpler approach<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Company executives increasingly want to see ROI (return-on-investment). If a feature isn&#8217;t innovative, build it the traditional way &#8211; deterministic or rule-based. If you&#8217;re just <strong>shifting your development cost onto the customer<\/strong>, <strong>you&#8217;ve already failed.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-6-large-language-models-llms-may-not-be-the-only-answer\">6. Large language models (LLMs) may not be the only answer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The Advocates expect wider use of deterministic and machine learning (ML) approaches. One example: an open-source project that reportedly <strong>cut its daily cost from $19,000 to under three cents<\/strong>. The Advocates are also skeptical of tightly-controlled vendor demos, and note that small and medium language models are already common. <strong>Making anything truly deterministic is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/ai\/ai-llm-app-why-ai-still-cant-be-trusted-for-security\/#faq:~:text=AI%20functions%20like%20a%20fast%2C%20confident%20junior%20developer%20%E2%80%94%20useful%20for%20acceleration%2C%20but%20dangerous%20without%20supervision.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">bit like training a junior colleague<\/a>: it takes effort<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"callout-block_580b448e293b8a859da8300ec3908178\" class=\"callout alignnone\">\n    <div class=\"child-last:mb-0 child-first:mt-0 bg-gray-50 dark:bg-gray-950 p-4xl my-3xl\">\n\n<p><strong>You may also be interested in:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/ai\/what-your-ai-strategy-is-missing-according-to-the-people-who-know-your-data-best\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">What your AI strategy is missing (according to the people who know your data best)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/collections\/how-i-built-an-app-just-by-talking-to-an-ai-llm\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">How I built an app just by talking to an AI LLM (the complete series)<\/a><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div> \n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">7. Cost pressure is really about people<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Many executives think they can only pay for AI by cutting staff. <strong>Spending an extra half million on AI in the hope of doing ten million dollars more work<\/strong> is a hard sell when <strong>most companies struggle to sell the work they <em>already have<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">8. Data centers and regulation are a thorny mix<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Fear-driven arguments may lead to tighter regulations that lock-in today&#8217;s big players and squeezes out newcomers. Large data centers create real externalities, such as power demand, that others end up paying for. And infrastructure investment has a history of skipping rural communities. <strong>Regulation is important but must be executed carefully.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">9. AI has real upside where traditional methods fall short<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>AI has enhanced medical research<\/strong>, including simulating tests in areas where women have historically been under-studied, as well as work protecting animals and the environment. However, the upsides can&#8217;t be separated from the downsides &#8211; including <strong>costs that could put AI tools out of reach for students and researchers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">10. The skills gap is the hidden cost<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Those who<strong> lean on AI without learning the fundamentals could be setting themselves up for a skills\/knowledge gap in five or six years&#8217; time<\/strong>. Mathematicians, for example, who object to AI solving problems because working through them is <em>how<\/em> people learn. These skills gaps may be filled, but <em>how<\/em> they&#8217;re filled is yet to be determined. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There&#8217;s also the view that curiosity and judgment are human problems, not age problems, and that AI can either erode or sharpen them depending on how you use it. One idea for building good habits: a hackathon where <strong>you can use AI, but only within a budget.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<section id=\"my-first-block-block_76e40d3225a27b3f0cffc8f71965feac\" class=\"my-first-block alignwide\">\n    <div class=\"bg-brand-600 text-base-white py-5xl px-4xl rounded-sm bg-gradient-to-r from-brand-600 to-brand-500 red\">\n        <div class=\"gap-4xl items-start md:items-center flex flex-col md:flex-row justify-between\">\n            <div class=\"flex-1 col-span-10 lg:col-span-7\">\n                <h3 class=\"mt-0 font-display mb-2 text-display-sm\">\u201cEveryone wants to move faster with AI, but few are truly ready for it.&#8221;<\/h3>\n                <div class=\"child:last-of-type:mb-0\">\n                                            What does the AI landscape look like in 2026? Get the full overview in Redgate&#8217;s 2026 State of the Database Landscape AI mini report >>                                    <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                                            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/solutions\/state-of-database-landscape\/2026\/ai-mini-report\/\" class=\"btn btn--secondary btn--lg\" aria-label=\"Download the AI mini report: \u201cEveryone wants to move faster with AI, but few are truly ready for it.&quot;\">Download the AI mini report<\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Revealing (and discussing) the real cost of AI: runaway token bills, the hunt for ROI, deterministic alternatives to LLMs, and a looming skills gap.&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":113478,"template":"","tags":[159075],"podcast_category":[159198],"podcast_season":[159361],"class_list":["post-113477","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-ai","podcast_category-advochats","podcast_season-season-3"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast\/113477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/podcast"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113477"},{"taxonomy":"podcast_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast_category?post=113477"},{"taxonomy":"podcast_season","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.red-gate.com\/simple-talk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast_season?post=113477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}