The AI supply crunch is here (www.economist.com)

The AI industry is facing a significant supply crunch, particularly in the availability of tokens—units of text crucial for the performance of large language models. According to OpenRouter, a marketplace for AI models, weekly token consumption surged fourfold from January to March, driven by an increased reliance on coding tools. This rapid escalation in demand highlights a critical limitation in the current infrastructure supporting AI development, signaling potential disruptions to service and innovation. This situation is particularly significant for the AI/ML community as it underscores the growing economic pressures within the field. As the demand for AI capabilities expands, the bottleneck in token supply may hinder the development of advanced applications and tools, thus stalling progress. For developers and researchers, understanding this supply challenge is crucial, as it may impact project timelines, cost structures, and the overall landscape of AI technology deployment in the coming months.