Recently, the AI community dropped a bombshell: Claude officially announced that it will no longer support the 'Lobster' subscription model for the most powerful brain 🦞🧠. Want to continue using this ceiling-level computing power?
Sorry, only API mode is available.
How terrifying is the gap in between?
In the past, you could get an unlimited monthly plan for $200; now switching to API mode, the same $200 quota, with the consumption speed of the most powerful brain's tokens, will be completely burned out in about 5 hours. 🔥💸
This is not a price increase; this is a precise 'net collection' operation.
The official first uses extremely low costs, even subsidizing twice the computing power, allowing you to get used to the logical reasoning and execution capabilities of the strongest brain.
When you try to save money and settle for using a 'second-rate lobster brain agent', you will find that it is a completely cliff-like downgrade experience.
Once you've used the strongest brain, you can't go back.
The understanding direction of commands by second-rate brains is often incorrect. A task that could be clearly stated in one sentence now produces execution content that is significantly off, and you may even need to spend more time debugging and cleaning up the mess.
Faced with this capital netting of computing power, what should we do? There are only two solutions in front of us:
Solution direction 1: Obey and pay 💰
Acknowledge the value of top-tier computing power, viewing the 200 USD burned in these 5 hours as a cost of a wealth-generating tool.
As long as you can create value far exceeding 200 USD with the strongest brain, then this money is worth spending. Expensive is never the issue, it's our problem.
Solution direction 2: Human brain + AI 🛠️
Don't want to be held hostage by API costs? Then you must evolve. Learn the truly correct AI prompt techniques and build a complete 'AI agent management structure'.
Through more precise prompt constraints and more rigorous task breakdown logic, compensate for the intellectual deficiencies of second-rate brains. Use your brain structure to supplement the computational shortcomings of cheap AI models.
In the future, you either have capital to burn the strongest computing power, or you have the skills to master second-rate tools.
Which path will you choose? 👇 Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!