Intelligence is Free, Now What? Data Systems for, of, and by Agents

Jul 10, 2026

Berkeley AI Research discusses the rapid decline in AI inference costs, noting that GPT-4-class capabilities have dropped from about $30 per million tokens in early 2023 to under $1 today, with some providers offering prices below $0.10. The post examines the implications for data systems, highlighting three emerging challenges: designing data systems for agents, of agents, and by agents.

Why it matters: As AI inference becomes nearly free, data systems must adapt to support large numbers of autonomous agents performing knowledge work, fundamentally altering data management and processing.

Full story at: Berkeley AI Research ↗