Forget AI KPIs: how China’s tech giants are rationing tokens for employees

When generative artificial intelligence first swept through China’s technology sector, workers faced a clear directive from management: use AI and use it often. Consuming vast numbers of AI tokens – the basic unit of computing power needed to process text or write code – became a badge of honour, with companies often viewing a high token count as a sign that employees were productive and taking initiative. But those computing allowances are now being sharply rolled back as China’s leading...