Don’t Let Them Hook You. How AI Cartels Are Going to Juice You… | by Olenin Slava | Jul, 2026 | MediumSitemapOpen in appSign up<br>Sign in
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Don’t Let Them Hook You
Olenin Slava
7 min read·<br>Just now
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How AI Cartels Are Going to Juice You Dry<br>Press enter or click to view image in full size
Future AI CartelIt’s Sunday night. My whole family is sleeping. This is the time I can actually be productive with my personal projects, and trust me, there is a lot to do.<br>So, I open up Claude, ready to get to work. And it tells me I will be able to use it again on the 11th.<br>What do you mean the 11th? Today is the 5th! How could I possibly burn through an entire week’s quota in a single day? That must be wrong. A glitch or something.<br>So, I try to get support. And all I am getting is essentially: Yep, pal! Give us some cash. No subsidized subscription rates anymore — just give me your money!<br>And just like that, my work is completely blocked. My options? Either start paying unsubsidized usage fees that would cost me thousands of dollars, or start hunting for alternative solutions that come with their own cleverly disguised hooks.<br>Do you still not get what is happening?<br>If you think these foundational model providers are your partners in building the future, you are setting yourself up for a very painful reality check. Once they have you hooked on their… khm… ecosystem, they will juice you for as much as they want.<br>But before you rush to the comments to call me a luddite or some AI hater… khm… let me…
Written by Olenin Slava<br>852 followers<br>·39 following
Passionate Software Developer with a strong focus on Web, 3D, Mobile, and pretty much any interactive computer graphics.
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