--- title: "AI Doesn't Have ROI" url: https://daily.dev/posts/ai-doesn-t-have-roi-qgywfsq0y source_url: https://www.wheresyoured.at/ai-doesnt-have-roi type: article source: "Where's Your Ed At" published: 2026-06-02T14:08:42.226Z updated: 2026-06-02T14:19:33.858Z tags: ["github", "llm"] reading_time: 40 upvotes: 18 comments: 9 language: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # AI Doesn't Have ROI **[Where's Your Ed At](https://daily.dev/sources/wheresyoured)** · 40 min read · 18 upvotes · 9 comments ## Summary A sharp critique arguing that AI has no measurable return on investment and that the entire AI industry has been built on deliberately obscured costs. Key evidence includes Uber's COO admitting difficulty justifying AI spend, enterprises accidentally burning millions on Anthropic tokens, and GitHub Copilot's shift to token-based billing causing user outrage. The author contends that AI companies intentionally subsidized subscriptions to hide true costs, that AI job displacement is a myth unsupported by economic data, and that the AI bubble is fundamentally worse than the Dot Com Bubble because AI data center infrastructure — unlike fiber optic cable — will leave behind no reusable, cost-reducing legacy. The piece also dissects a SemiAnalysis report on 'dark output' and a Bain & Co. survey showing most enterprises see minimal AI cost savings, concluding that if AI truly worked as advertised, its economic impact would be impossible to miss. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Community discussion Top comments from developers on daily.dev. **@ricktonoli** · 2 upvotes > Something I battle with is the whole "measuring the ROI of AI". I may be over simplifying this but surely if you treat AI as a new tool you're introducing, or a new way of doing things, then just looking at EXISTING metrics and seeing improvements there should be your measure of success? Unless of course you aren't measuring, that I understand but if you're measuring even basic things like throughput, you'd hope to see that improve in some way after several months of adoption, just like adopting any other improvement. > > I don't know, maybe I'm missing something here but shouldn't it be that... **@devdavidt** · 1 upvotes > Exactly but yet everyone is juming because of it. 🙃 **@akkitto** · 0 upvotes > The only reason, that would make this seem as described to me, is that AI is too much shoehorned in, where it's difficult to bring a ROI, as well as too much forced upon people, who simply do not want to use it and therefore do not use it efficiently. > > As for my part and from what I know in my circle of people, AI is increasing efficiency extremely, like never before. It's a boost, that was simply impossible 10 years ago. > > > It's difficult to count all the functioning Bash scripts I generated with AI, which I would've taken hours for each 10 years ago, due to all the best practice I usually... **@radinuv** · 0 upvotes > how is this a 40 minute read ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [AI Is Too Expensive](https://daily.dev/posts/ai-is-too-expensive-snj1hxice) · Where's Your Ed At · 85 upvotes · 22 comments - [Why Are We Still Doing This?](https://daily.dev/posts/why-are-we-still-doing-this--8cuxgxfhz) · Where's Your Ed At · 10 upvotes · 2 comments - [AI's Economics Don't Make Sense](https://daily.dev/posts/ai-s-economics-don-t-make-sense-u59jqqbul) · Where's Your Ed At · 69 upvotes · 11 comments - [The AI Industry Is Losing](https://daily.dev/posts/the-ai-industry-is-losing-0iyorrmhe) · Where's Your Ed At · 14 upvotes · 3 comments --- Tags: [#github](https://daily.dev/tags/github), [#llm](https://daily.dev/tags/llm) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/ai-doesn-t-have-roi-qgywfsq0y)