Learn · a trick with a name
Temporary As Permanent
a moratorium or intro price reported as the settled state.
A pause, an intro price or a trial gets reported as the new normal, then quietly ends.
How to spot it
- Moratoriums, pilots and promotional pricing
- End dates in the fine print
- Coverage that drops the time limit
The one question to ask“When does this end?”
At work
Budget AI tools at list price, not launch price. Put renewal dates in the calendar the day you sign.
Caught in the wild
Every time we've caught it so far. Try calling each one before you open it.
- TRUE, BUTHeadlines say Musk's xAI lost its fight against Minnesota's AI-nudification law. The judge who ruled against xAI wrote, in the same order, that he hasn't decided yet whether the law is even constitutional.
- TRUE, BUTNew York just banned AI in schools. Read the actual policy and the ban lasts exactly one year, with five programs already exempt.
- TRUE, BUTThe EU delayed its AI Act's expensive rules by 16 months and called it cutting red tape.
- TRUE, BUTGoogle cut Gemini Flash's price in half. The half grows back on January 1.