Kevin Kelly: If the cost of tokens is crucial in the future, Chinese open-source models will have a significant advantage

According to a report by The Paper, at the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference, renowned futurist and "father of the Silicon Valley spirit" Kevin Kelly stated in a media interview that if one day everyone starts to care about the cost of tokens, the existence of open-source models would be an advantage for Chinese AI.

Kevin Kelly mentioned that the cost of token consumption is becoming increasingly important, and currently, it seems that people do not care about the cost. "But I believe that when we are constantly consuming such a large number of tokens, people will start to care (about the cost). If you can provide a cost that is only one-tenth of Anthropic's, then it will change the game."

However, Kevin Kelly also reminded that the open-source model requires sufficient funding to maintain operations, as it is not as profitable as the closed-source model. "Building these large models requires massive funding."