this post was submitted on 13 Mar 2026
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AI companies try to pay staff in AI tokens, not money (pivot-to-ai.com)
submitted 5 months ago by cypherpunks@lemmy.ml to c/nottheonion@lemmy.ml
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[โ€“] balsoft@lemmy.ml 4 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Ok, so correct me if I'm wrong, but usually the reason you do this is because the cost to produce this benefit is lower than the price you usually sell it for, so you can inflate the claimed value of the benefit, both to appeal to candidates and to write it off on your taxes. But at the moment tokens are usually sold way below cost (i.e. the companies are not profitable), so why the fuck would any company do this? Are they this short on cash now?

[โ€“] belated_frog_pants@beehaw.org 1 points 5 months ago

They set money on fire at incredible rates, they are definitely seeking any cash they can.

Also investors HATE payroll expenses. Loathe.