Kevin Kelly: If Token Cost Becomes Crucial in the Future, China's Open-Source Models Will Have a Significant Advantage

Odaily Planet Daily News: On July 18th, at the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference, renowned futurist and "Godfather of Silicon Valley" Kevin Kelly stated in an interview that if one day everyone starts to care about token costs, the existence of open-source models will present an advantage for China's AI industry.

Kevin Kelly mentioned that the consumption cost of tokens is becoming increasingly important, yet currently, people don't seem to care about the cost. "But I believe, when we are constantly consuming such a massive number of tokens, everyone will start to care (about the cost). If you can offer a cost that is only one-tenth of Anthropic's, it would completely disrupt the situation." However, Kevin Kelly also cautioned that the open-source model requires sufficient funding to operate, as it is not as profitable as the closed-source model. "Building these large models requires enormous capital." (The Paper)