MoneyMagpie Editor and financial expert Vicky Parry warns about the ways AI can cost you money – and how to avoid it
Artificial intelligence (AI) seems to be everywhere these days. But did you know that it could be costing you more money each month than you need to spend?
Follow these tips to avoid the AI and keep on top of your finances.
When AI can be useful
We’re not here to bash AI: it does have useful applications. For example, apps like Emma help you analyse your spending across different bank accounts and can help you identify expenses you’ve forgotten about, like unused subscriptions.
AI can also be handy for those dipping their toe into their investing journey. Robo advisors and AI investment programmes can help you learn more about investing and ‘set and forget’ investing small amounts to try out the stock market.
However, there are also lots of ways AI is actually costing you more cash each month – here’s what to look out for and how to avoid these sneaky expenses.
Cancel your software upgrade
Many subscription-based softwares now include AI tools – and they’re making you pay for the privilege. For example, Microsoft rolled out CoPilot and then raised the price of Microsoft 365 to account for the ‘added benefit’ of AI.
Where possible, keep control of your spending by rejecting the AI tools. Many software companies will offer a rollback or a ‘basic’ option without the ‘premium’ AI tools – you may have to contact their helpdesk to get it, though.
Or, with Microsoft Office, consider either buying a single Home Office licence which is offline, single-payment, and not subscription (and without AI), or switching to free options like Google Docs or Libre Office.
Don’t sign away your ownership
Check the terms and conditions of software, too. Companies are sneaking in terms that allow them to use your work to train their AI models, or use your privately saved or transferred content via the software to ‘use in perpetuity’ how they wish. This could mean using your photos for advertising, marketing, or even demographic training to target adverts more precisely.
WeTransfer recently had to walk back such a change. The file transfer service is often used by creatives to send large-sized files to each other, and the change in terms suggested this content could be used by WeTransfer with impunity.
This caused outrage in users, as it held huge potential to devalue their creative work. Since the outcry, WeTransfer has altered the wording and confirmed user content will not be used to train their AI.
While most companies insist that this kind of wording is designed to improve the in-house customer experience, the terms can be vague.
This means you might be granting access to your content – including stuff that would normally be considered under your copyright, like images and writing – for companies to use as they wish. If that turned into using it for advertising, or putting your personal images on marketing content for the world to see, you could lose revenue from your business or even suffer reputational damage.
Always read the fine print – no matter how boring it might be! It could save you from financial loss.
Built-in device AI
Laptops, tablets, and smartphones all already use AI in some forms. However, new devices are now using it as a selling point, with advanced features connecting a wide range of features to make things easier for you. For example, you could more easily edit your photos at the click of a button – or a calendar invite can be set to give you an audible reminder on your Amazon Echo.
However, you’re paying for this software and might not even use it. More than that, the design of the newest AI connecting everything, everywhere makes a lot of people uncomfortable and can cause extra anxiety.
Look for second-hand older models without the built-in AI, or some ‘dumb’ tech which operates ‘old school’ ways, like the Chatsie phone with its text interface. Some budget smartphones will also not have the super-duper AI tools included, too.
Turn off personalised advert options
A more insidious form of AI that makes you spend money is the way many platforms allow tracking cookies for personalised adverts. This is not new, it’s been around for a long time – but AI has made it even easier than before for marketers to finesse their target audience and make sure you’re served adverts for things you’re more likely to be interested in.
Have you ever noticed that you paused a little too long on an advert for something while you’re scrolling, and then suddenly your feed is filled with similar products? It’s how retailers get you! Turning off personalised adverts means you’ll be served all kinds, rather than only the things you want or are interested in buying. This will reduce the impulsivity of online shopping, especially when you’re scrolling social media.
Go old school for research
ChatGPT not only uses ten times more energy to reply to a query than a Google search, but it also hallucinates. That’s the term for when it makes up answers – basically, it makes assumptions based on patterns rather than uses critical thinking like humans can.
Why can this cost you money? It could cost you your job! If you’re regularly using ChatGPT for research, you might think it’s saving you time – but with a high error rate, not fact-checking the information provided to you could mean huge, and costly, mistakes. The popular AI tool even states below the query bar that it isn’t accurate and should be checked.
So, why waste time asking ChatGPT in the first place? ‘Old-fashioned’ Google searches will help you find the best resources, double-check details, and save you time on fact-checking the AI results in the first place. Remember that the AI summary that comes up on a Google search can also hallucinate (a classic example is it not recognising that 2015 was ten years ago ), so keep scrolling to reach the web pages instead. You can avoid any AI summaries by using -ai at the end of your search query.
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