SenseTime CEO Predicts Shift from 'Token Economy' to 'Task Economy' in AI Commercialization

The commercialisation of artificial intelligence is poised to transition from a “token economy” to a “task economy” as token prices decline in the coming years, according to Chinese AI company SenseTime.

“The pricing of tokens will inevitably drop, much like the cost of telecoms data did two decades ago,” SenseTime CEO Xu Li said in an interview with the South China Morning Post.

After foundational models and computing power become basic infrastructure, the true commercial value will shift towards a “task economy” where users pay for completed, complex tasks like reviewing architectural blueprints or generating product videos, rather than raw computing usage, Xu said on the sidelines of the World AI Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai on Saturday.

His comments come as major AI companies in China are banking on the so-called token economy, as enterprises increasingly adopt AI to boost productivity and automate business operations. China’s daily AI token consumption surged more than 1,000-fold in the past two years, according to official data.

With AI coding currently proving to be one of the most popular verticals for AI to generate cash flow, Xu said the next breakthrough lies in work and design scenarios. While early adoption focused on programmers, the next wave would reach the masses, he said, adding that the total addressable market was likely to expand by at least 10 times.

“Major shifts in industry conditions can produce tenfold changes when a critical inflection point is reached,” Xu said. The nature of demand would expand beyond professionals, to a new scenario where they represented only a small fraction of the total user population, he added.