The rich won't just have more money. They'll have more intelligence.

From time immemorial, one of the few things that was free at birth was intelligence. No one ever received a monthly bill, or was required to pay a priori for using their brains. While some had a bit more intelligence, others had a little less. And that was all there was to it.

However, if you want to artificially increase your intelligence, we may be heading towards a future in which you may have an option. But if you were to ask the AI assistant on your laptop or smartphone in the near future, 'What is the best way to solve this problem?' in some situations it may well reply, 'You have used up your Free Intelligence Plan. Please either upgrade to Intelligence Premium Plus, or wait until next month.'

Yup, free AI may not exist in the future. As a result, the use of AI as an indicator may lead to the emergence of whole new social strata that we haven't even thought of yet.


AI Lite Used by the underprivileged, this is the standard free model. After 20 seconds of thinking, it advises, 'Maybe try asking someone else'.

AI Standard The middle-classes use this base plan for a standard fee. This version can write emails, schedule trips, assist with basic problem-solving - although it can make mistakes when solving your nephew's class 12 calculus problem. It can even, occasionally, remember your spouse's birthday.

AI Ultra Max Quantum Executive This subscription option is for the wealthy. It creates best-selling novels, negotiates contracts, predicts stock market moves, solves calculus problems flawlessly (although the rich or their kids may not need to solve calculus problems in the first place). It can also gently remind people to drink water while simultaneously designing a Martian colony.

In this future scenario, IQ scores will no longer be compared. Rather, people will contrast intelligence packages or monthly AI expenses. Over time, the digital divide in society would evolve into an intelligence divide. Better-off people have superior internet connections today. They will also be sharper in the second quarter of this century.

While the average person will have to wait for their monthly allotment to be renewed, or recharge a cheap plan, a billionaire's AI could analyse 10,000 alternatives before breakfast. Governments might discuss whether intelligence is a fundamental human right or not. Even the implementation of 'Universal Basic Thinking' programmes could be debated in several nations.

Naturally, with the introduction of AI's 6G, 7G, etc., entrepreneurs will discover new prospects. Cafes and restaurants will soon stop saying they have 'free Wi-Fi'. Instead, they'll say, 'You get AI with every cappuccino' or 'Our lobster comes with GPT-Infinity access'.

Today AI is often seen as a tech that can change how people learn, work, and start businesses. AI services are expensive to build and maintain, though. Large data centres with specialist tech and massive quantities of electricity are also required to run powerful AI models. As a result, businesses lose spending control, which drives up AI prices. Recently, one company reportedly spent $500 mn in a single month due to unchecked use.

So, the situation described above seems like it could happen sooner rather than later. Speaking at the BlackRock US Infrastructure Summit in Washington, OpenAI boss Sam Altman predicted that in the future, individuals will simply utilise AI anytime they need assistance with a task and pay for it based on how much they use, much like a metered utility.

Altman's remark quickly provoked discussion and fear, not just because of what it implies about AI's future but also because it raises questions about who might ultimately oversee it. 'We see a future where intelligence is a utility, like electricity or water, and people buy it from us on a meter,' he said. His words, and the use of 'us,' create a scary scenario in which certain individuals would be in control of a highly sought-after utility.

Some not-so-artificially-intelligent people would, nevertheless, keep attempting to create their Gioconda or Gitanjali using their own creativity, talent, and unmetered intelligence.

The writer is professor of statistics, ISI, Kolkata