AI gold rush? More like a hustle only some can afford

The AI boom isn’t about robots taking over — it’s about who gets paid while the rest of us keep scrolling. Big tech companies are stacking cash with AI tools that promise to save time, cut costs, and make everyone smarter. But for the rest of us? The tools are locked behind paywalls, or they’re trained on our data and sold back to us at a premium.

Small shops, freelance workers, and family-run businesses are being asked to adopt AI just to keep up — without the budget, the IT help, or the time. Auntie Maria’s bakery now needs an AI menu generator. The cousin who drives for Uber is told to use an AI scheduler that charges extra. Meanwhile, the same tech giants who built these tools are laying off thousands of workers who trained them.

No one’s asking if this actually helps la gente — or if it just makes the rich richer while the rest of us hustle harder for less.

Why this matters for us: If AI only serves those who can pay, it won’t lift us up — it’ll just put another toll on the road we’re already running.