Epoch AI finds AI cost per benchmark score falling 13× per year
Original titleAI is getting cheaper faster than any other transformative technology
Epoch AI estimates that the cheapest cost of reaching a given benchmark score has fallen about 13× per year over the past five years, faster than DNA sequencing, compute, lithium batteries, or electricity.
Its example: a 75% GPQA Diamond score that cost about 30 cents per question with o3 in January 2025 cost $0.0004 per question with GPT-5.6 Luna under 18 months later.
The authors caution that benchmarks are imperfect proxies for market prices, and the decline rate slows over time.
The source compares AI price declines with other transformative technologies using benchmark-based cost estimates, giving readers a measured sense of how fast cost per capability is falling.
Source: Epoch AI · The Epoch Brief · epochai.substack.comPublished · added here