Meta: AI feels free, but the real cost is trust, attention, and accountability. Here’s how to pay the right price.
We’ve never had so much intelligence available on demand—summaries, code, designs, strategy, even emotional support. And yet, the strange part is this: the cheaper intelligence becomes, the more expensive trust gets.
When an answer arrives in one second, we stop asking: Who is responsible if it’s wrong?
When content becomes effortless, we stop asking: What is real?
When automation becomes normal, we stop asking: Who gets left behind?
This is the hidden price of “free intelligence.” Not money—meaning.
The three bills we don’t see
1) The Trust Bill
AI can sound confident even when it’s uncertain. In high-stakes spaces—health, finance, law—confidence without accountability becomes danger.
2) The Attention Bill
If AI can generate infinite content, the scarce resource is not information. It’s your focus. And focus is the foundation of learning, relationships, and decision-making.
3) The Responsibility Bill
When an AI action causes harm, “the model did it” can’t be the end of the story. Every system needs a human chain of responsibility.
So what do we do?
We don’t reject AI. We upgrade our culture around it:
- Treat AI outputs as drafts, not truth.
- Design systems where humans approve critical actions.
- Demand sources, logs, and transparency when AI is used at scale.
Idea to carry: If intelligence is abundant, integrity must become the new premium.
