You’re not getting money You’re getting store credit
Remember the old company towns? You got paid in scrip You could only spend it at the company store
Who won? Not the workers
Now imagine the 2024 version of that
You: • Get “AI tokens” instead of cash • Can only use them on the employer’s preferred AI stack • Are nudged to use the tools they got subsidies or discounts for
Who does that really serve?
The engineer? Or the vendor relationship?
I’ve worked with founders who do this with software already They don’t pick the best tool They pick the tool that came with the fattest “enterprise deal”
Now apply that to your daily work Your creativity Your output
You’re not choosing the best agent You’re choosing the one the procurement team negotiated
Feels less like empowerment More like a loyalty program
I’d rather see this: Pay people in something neutral Something portable Something you can take with you if you leave
Sats make way more sense than siloed “AI tokens” Why?
Because with sats: • You aren’t locked into one ecosystem • You can choose the best agent for the job • Your “AI budget” is money, not monopoly money
Right now we’re at a fork in the road
Two futures
Future one Every big AI platform invents its own token Every company ties you to “their” stack You get paid in credits that die when you switch jobs
Future two Your comp is real value You pick your own tools Vendors compete for your sats, not the other way around
Which world do you want?
I once consulted for a startup that gave people “internal credits” for using their AI platform Guess what happened?
People spammed the tool to burn credits They didn’t become more productive They became more compliant
That’s the risk here
We dress up control as “innovation” We call it tokens We pitch it as a perk
But if you can’t: • Save it • Spend it anywhere • Take it with you
Is it really compensation?
Or is it just a new company store with better branding?
Jensen wants to pay engineers in “AI tokens.”
On paper
Sounds cool
Feels futuristic
But look a little closer
You’re not getting money
You’re getting store credit
Remember the old company towns?
You got paid in scrip
You could only spend it at the company store
Who won?
Not the workers
Now imagine the 2024 version of that
You:
• Get “AI tokens” instead of cash
• Can only use them on the employer’s preferred AI stack
• Are nudged to use the tools they got subsidies or discounts for
Who does that really serve?
The engineer?
Or the vendor relationship?
I’ve worked with founders who do this with software already
They don’t pick the best tool
They pick the tool that came with the fattest “enterprise deal”
Now apply that to your daily work
Your creativity
Your output
You’re not choosing the best agent
You’re choosing the one the procurement team negotiated
Feels less like empowerment
More like a loyalty program
I’d rather see this:
Pay people in something neutral
Something portable
Something you can take with you if you leave
Sats make way more sense than siloed “AI tokens”
Why?
Because with sats:
• You aren’t locked into one ecosystem
• You can choose the best agent for the job
• Your “AI budget” is money, not monopoly money
Right now we’re at a fork in the road
Two futures
Future one
Every big AI platform invents its own token
Every company ties you to “their” stack
You get paid in credits that die when you switch jobs
Future two
Your comp is real value
You pick your own tools
Vendors compete for your sats, not the other way around
Which world do you want?
I once consulted for a startup that gave people “internal credits” for using their AI platform
Guess what happened?
People spammed the tool to burn credits
They didn’t become more productive
They became more compliant
That’s the risk here
We dress up control as “innovation”
We call it tokens
We pitch it as a perk
But if you can’t:
• Save it
• Spend it anywhere
• Take it with you
Is it really compensation?
Or is it just a new company store with better branding?