AFR AI Summit: Corporate leaders grapple with the skyrocketing costs of agentic AI, social licence and tokenomics
Australian Financial Review
ENRICHED
Details
- Date Published
- 2 June 2026
- Priority Score
- 3
- Australian
- Yes
- Created
- 2 June 2026, 04:00 pm
Description
Agentic AI costs are fostering a scarcity mindset within companies, alongside the practice of “tokenomics” as businesses seek to budget, monitor and optimise the cost of AI.
Summary
Australian business leaders are shifting focus from general generative AI toward the deployment of 'agentic AI' systems that function as independent digital helpers. These advancements in frontier capabilities introduce complex economic challenges dubbed 'tokenomics' and raise urgent questions regarding the social license required for autonomous systems. The discourse highlights a growing tension between rapid capability expansion and the governance frameworks needed to manage the social and operational risks of increasingly autonomous agents in the Australian corporate sector.
Body
TechnologyThe AFR ViewPrint articleJun 2, 2026 – 7.31pmWhile the world has spent the past few years focused on how to harness the potential of artificial intelligence, the pace of technological advancements means corporate leaders are now grappling with how they will afford its staggering costs.Business figures, industry experts and technologists explored this paradox at Tuesday’s Australian Financial Review AI Summit. Relatively cheap generative tools such as ChatGPT, which launched only four years ago, are already being eclipsed by more complex, power-hungry models such as agentic AI, which act as independent digital helpers.Loading...SaveLog in or Subscribe to save articleShareCopy linkCopiedEmailLinkedInTwitterFacebookCopy linkCopiedShare via...Gift this articleSubscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? LoginLicense articleFollow the topics, people and companies that matter to you.Find out moreRead MoreThe AFR ViewOpinionAI SummitAIFetching latest articles