The easiest way to judge an AI subscription is to ask how many hours it saves. But that misses something more exciting.
Imagine you have a clear idea for a website: its design, buttons and features. The only problem is that you can't code. Previously, the project might stall at “first, spend months learning programming.”
Now you can describe the idea to an AI assistant. It produces a version you can click. You find bugs, request changes and watch it improve. The thing you imagined works—and making it is fun.
Buying 300 machine hours with ten hours of work
Suppose a service costs 30,000 yen per month, provides 300 hours of machine activity, and earning that fee takes ten hours of your work. That's a tempting 30-to-one comparison.
But 300 hours of AI activity aren't equivalent to 300 hours from an expert. Waiting, mistakes, retries and human verification all count. Finished outcomes matter more than a running clock.
Less friction is different from more possibility
Delegating repetitive paperwork removes a chore. Prototyping a tool you couldn't previously build creates a new option.
You haven't suddenly mastered programming. You can nevertheless direct, test and revise a working project. “I wish I could make that” becomes “let's try.”
What the research supports
In 2017, Whillans and colleagues reported an association between spending on time-saving services and life satisfaction among 6,271 people in four countries. A field experiment found greater reported happiness after time-saving purchases than material purchases.[1] That study did not directly test AI subscriptions.
Ryan and Deci describe autonomy, competence and relatedness as important psychological needs.[2] AI-assisted creation could support a sense of choice and capability.
A 2024 experiment by Doshi and Hauser found that access to AI ideas improved average evaluations of short stories, but also made stories more similar to one another.[3] AI can open creative doors while encouraging people to take the same route through them.
The manager with the endless to-do list
“Build this website” becomes “make another design,” “read the research,” “invent twenty more ideas,” and “test all of them.”
Treat a human employee this way and you're the villain of the office. AI makes broad experimentation more affordable, so the person giving instructions keeps inventing more projects.
There's the paradox: you hired AI to do less tedious work, then created a hundred new things to do because exploring became so much fun.
How to measure value
Count time saved, new things actually made and enjoyment during creation. For commercial projects, measure real net profit separately. A fun prototype and a profitable product are different achievements. Check AI-generated work carefully when money, publication or safety is involved.
The punch line
AI can give you your evening back. It can also turn a passing idea into a working tool before your enthusiasm fades.
You wanted less work. Now you're busier than ever—because there are so many things you finally want to make.
References (3)
- Whillans, A. V., et al. (2017). Buying time promotes happiness. PNAS, 114(32), 8523–8527 doi.org
- Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78 doi.org
- Doshi, A. R., & Hauser, O. P. (2024). Generative AI enhances individual creativity but reduces the collective diversity of novel content. Science Advances, 10(28), eadn5290 doi.org
