“The cutting edge continues to get more expensive. But a single point in capability keeps getting cheaper.”
Embedded · Hands-On Engineering Podcasts · October 2026
Context
The co-hosts disagreed about whether AI models are getting cheaper. White says the best frontier models cost more, but any fixed level of capability becomes cheaper over time, crediting the idea to a guest from a few weeks earlier.
Transcript
Like Adam was saying a few weeks ago. Sure, sure, sure, sure. Where if you take one level of how it works, next year that level will be significantly cheaper. The
frontier models continue to get more expensive, but everything is. It's the front line. Yes.
The cutting edge continues to get more expensive. But a single point in capability keeps getting cheaper.
Yeah. So that's what I'm doing. And I do the homework. It gives me homework. I do the exercises. It runs the exercises, runs my tests. It's making me do test-driven development to a certain extent. It's a harsh critic. But I try to push back on some of that. But then
it gets all obsequious and you're like, not
this model I'm using doesn't get super obsequious. But I don't know. Part of me also just wants to run into the sea. I have a lot of music to work on too.
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