AI token consumption in China surges over 1,000-fold, fueling 'token economy'

Daily AI token consumption in China has surged more than 1,000-fold in just over two years, exceeding 140 trillion tokens a day in March, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. This explosive growth, from around 100 billion tokens daily at the start of 2024 to 100 trillion by end of last year, is giving rise to a token-based economy, experts told a conference. Tokens, the fundamental units AI models use to process and generate information, are evolving from a technical metric into the basis for delivering and pricing AI services, said Yin, who described tokens as a new production factor connecting AI model capability, computing resources, and commercial value. The surge reflects widespread adoption of AI across Chinese companies to boost productivity and automate business operations. Daily usage of 140 trillion tokens in March equates to roughly 100,000 tokens per person based on China's population of about 1.4 billion.