A technology leader's framework for AI cost, risk, and right-sizing. Why the price Is not the price For a growing share of enterprise workloads, a frontier language model is the most expensive and highest-risk route to an inferior result. The macro data already shows it. An NBER study published in February 2026 found 89 percent of firms reporting no impact of AI on productivity over the past three years, and more than 90 percent reporting none on employment. [1] A METR random