Corporate America questions AI spending as costs rise and returns remain unclear

Summary

Corporate leaders are increasingly questioning whether massive AI spending is delivering real business value. Microsoft canceled most of its Claude Code licenses partly due to costs, and Uber's COO noted AI expenses are becoming harder to justify. The article describes a "healthy swing" away from AI overuse, or "tokenmaxxing" — the push to maximize AI token consumption — as companies confront ballooning IT budgets, uncertain productivity gains, and growing employee skepticism.