Why Your AI Subscription Bill Just Went Up 1,000% | UnHacked Ep. 104
Hosts:
Justin Shelley - https://www.phoenixitadvisors.com/
Mario Zaki - https://www.mazteck.com/
Joshua Holloway - https://7thdi.com/
One AI tool's price jumped from a fair quote to 10x more overnight. Is AI fear-mongering designed to keep you locked in?
Justin Shelley - https://www.phoenixitadvisors.com/
Mario Zaki - https://www.mazteck.com/
Joshua Holloway - https://7thdi.com/
One AI tool's price jumped from a fair quote to 10x more overnight. Is AI fear-mongering designed to keep you locked in?
Every week there's a new AI headline promising the end of the world. Models "escaping" sandboxes, CEOs quitting to warn everyone AI is too dangerous, calls to slow down before it's too late. Justin Shelley, Mario Zaki, and Josh Holloway put their tinfoil hats on for episode 104 and ask the question nobody in the AI industry wants to answer: who actually benefits from all of this fear?
The conversation gets real fast. Justin shares a tool he's been using where the base price stayed reasonable, but the AI component quietly went from a quoted price to 1,000% more once it left beta. Josh breaks down how AI-driven demand has tripled server prices in under a year and stretched lead times from days to months, and shares a story about a client who was sold an 8-year-old server as brand new. Mario explains why bringing AI models in-house still doesn't pencil out financially for most small businesses, even though the appetite to escape subscription pricing is growing fast.
The theory they land on: the same companies telling you AI is too powerful to control might also be the ones most threatened by you running it yourself. If self-hosted, open-source AI models let businesses skip the subscription treadmill, then scaring the public into demanding regulation is a convenient way to make sure that option quietly disappears. Whether you buy the conspiracy or not, this episode will change how you read the next AI doom headline.
What you'll learn:
- Why the "we need to slow down AI development" argument falls apart the moment you follow the money
- How one AI vendor's price jumped from a reasonable quote to 1,000% more once it left beta
- The real story of a client sold an 8-year-old server as "brand new," and how to make sure your IT provider never does that to you
- Why AI-capable server prices have tripled in under a year, with lead times stretching from days to months
- The theory that scary AI headlines are less about safety and more about keeping businesses locked into subscriptions instead of running AI in-house
New episodes drop every week with real, unfiltered conversations about the technology and security decisions actually affecting small business owners. Subscribe so you don't miss the next one.
Worried about where your data lives, who controls it, and what happens if a vendor you rely on gets breached or jacks up their prices? That's exactly the kind of risk Phoenix IT Advisors helps small businesses get in front of. Visit PhoenixITAdvisors.com to schedule a consult and find out where your business actually stands.
Links:
Full episode: https://unhackmybusiness.com/episode/104
Phoenix IT Advisors: https://phoenixitadvisors.com
More UnHacked: @UnHackedPodcast
Creators and Guests
Host
Bryan Lachapelle
Hi, I’m Bryan, and I’m the President of B4 Networks. I started working with technology since early childhood, and routinely took apart computers as early as age 13. I received my education in Computer Engineering Technology from Niagara College. Starting B4 Networks was always a dream for me, and this dream became true in 2004. I originally started B4 Networks to service the residential market but found that my true passion was in the commercial and industrial sectors where I could truly utilize my experience as a Network Administrator for a large Toronto based Marine Shipping company. My passion today is to ensure that each and every client receives top of the line services. My first love is for my wonderful family. I also enjoy the outdoors, camping, and helping others. I’m an active Canadian Forces Officer working with the 613 Fonthill Army Cadets as a member of their training staff.
Host
Mario Zaki
During my career, I have advised clients on effective – and cost-effective – approaches to developing infrastructure that fosters productivity and profitability. My work has provided me with a broad-based knowledge of business from the inside, with an expertise in areas that go beyond IT alone, ranging from strategic planning to cloud computing to workflow automation solutions.
