"42% battery remaining."
I drove an EV for the first time this weekend and I noticed one thing: how fast the charge decreased.
In fact, I found myself constantly drawn to the charge. I watched 42% become 41%. Then 40%. Then, well, you get it.
It was constantly on my mind: finding chargers, driving less, making sure I could keep the car charged.
Then, wondering why chargers were different, what the hell ChargePoint was, downloading apps to find EV chargers, and finally, just trying to figure out how much I was spending on charging.
The answer? Less <$10 for the entire weekend.
Renting an EV in San Antonio
Now, renting an EV in San Antonio, Texas probably wasn't the smartest move. Better yet, with gas under $3 a gallon in Texas, I should have just got a gas car and saved myself all this trouble.
But, I on a walk I tried to figure out why this bothered me. The thing is, I rarely think about the range on my gas vehicle. And I drive a truck that gets 16 mpg.
Two things stuck out to me: precision and salience.
The precision of battery levels and the salience of the car's charge put me in a scarcity mindset.
Gauges and levels
With a gas car, I never stress about the numbers. The fuel gauge is vague, and gas stations are everywhere, even if gas is $6 a gallon in California.
How fast does my gas tank empty in a day? No idea. How much charge did I lose driving from my hotel to the Alamo? 8%. A similar analogy is enabling the "battery number" on iPhone.
I instantly go from being "somewhat aware" of how much battery I have to fixated on how fast my phone is losing charge, then subconsciously filled with conspiracy theories about planned obsolescence.
All I really need is "yellow" then "red." Then, I'll turn on low power mode and conserve, but only if I REALLY have to.
Billing and AI
The obvious parallel here is billing in AI. Now, there's a reason why I have no idea what I'm spending on Google Cloud until I get an invoice in my email: they know I'll spend less if I'm hyper-aware of my usage.
Yet, for AI products, we've set the precedent that we're going to show users OVERLY precise pricing. We're going to show users EVERYTHING; sessions, chats, even tokens.
Scarcity is the enemy of creativity. There's no better way to make someone less creative than to make them anxious and concerned.
We should never deceive users, BUT we should remove the burden of precision. We should allow users to be creative without worrying about spending $5.38 in a session.
I have a friend who likes to point out the Law of Triviality in pricing issues, but hyper-precise pricing creates anxiety and worsens the user experience, so it's anything but trivial.
A better way forward
Usage based billing needs to move from a "charge" model to a "gauge" model. From a battery percentage to an simple indicator with a warning light.
AI pricing should allow for creativity and surface usage intelligently. We're incredibly early in the days of AI billing and there's a wide margin to improve. I, for one, would like a little less precision in my life.