AI, Subscriptions, and the $40 Vanishing Act

If you’ve spent any time chasing the promise of AI tools, you’ve probably felt this sting: you swipe your card for $30 or $40, try a shiny new app for a month, and then realize you’ve basically paid for the privilege of disappointment.

shipable.ai was my latest loss. Build a product in 8 mins they said, and after bitter disappointment, I’m spending hours trying to cancel my membership.

The unsubscribe link is hidden three menus deep. Refunds? Forget it. By the time you find the “cancel” button, you’ve already lost money, patience, and maybe a little faith in the whole AI revolution.

Multiply that across thousands of people, and what you get is an economy of tiny losses. Not catastrophic—just corrosive. Like a subscription tax on hope.

Why this Happens: AI has lowered the barrier to product launch

Anyone with a decent model wrapper and a landing page can push something live.

The problem? Quality control hasn’t kept up.

What often passes for a polished platform is really just an MVP in disguise, dressed up in glossy design and buzzwords. Users end up paying not for functionality, but for the dream that this time the tool might work as promised.

My Journey through the Shoddy and the Half-Decent

I’ve been through my share. Some tools were outright indecent, others half-decent. Lovable, for example, had promise but didn’t quite cross the threshold into “worth paying for.”

Each one taught me the same lesson: not all AI tools respect your time or your money. But here’s the good news—sometimes you stumble onto the ones that do.

The Turning Point: Discovering Replit, v0, and Mindsmith

Replit was the first game-changer. It wasn’t just a place to experiment; it let me actually build. With it, I created an ROI prediction app using Random Forest models—something practical, not just playful.

Then came v0. I started designing an ID AI Agent there—an ambitious project I eventually shelved when I got accepted as a beta tester for Mindsmith.

That’s where things shifted again. Mindsmith gave me a more structured environment to test how AI could enhance instructional design. (And yes—this is where I tag Ethan Webb, who’s been building out that vision with his team.)

The Larger Pattern: AI Isn’t the Problem—Ethics Are

Here’s the thing: AI itself isn’t to blame. The models are solid. The infrastructure is evolving. The problem is the ecosystem. Too many tools are designed to maximize subscriptions rather than maximize user value. Real value comes when platforms don’t just take money but give back control, clarity, and creative power.

Enter Emergent (The Good Kind of Surprise)

That’s why I want to mention Emergent—not as another subscription trap, but as an example of how it should be done.

I built ai-bnb. In with Emergent in less than 20 minutes. A real product, not a landing page. Simple, transparent, and surprisingly frictionless. No hunting for cancel links. No “oops, no refunds.” Just credits, clarity, and output.

And if you’re curious, signing up with this Emergent link (https://app.emergent.sh/register?ref=tiah586173) will give you extra credits to get started.

That’s the kind of model I wish more AI tools embraced—rewarding users instead of trapping them.

The Principle

The lesson isn’t “don’t try AI tools.” It’s this:

• Expect experiments to fail. Not every app will deliver.

• Be ready to move on quickly. Don’t sink more time and money than you need.

• Keep searching until you find the ones that return a value.

Because the future of AI isn’t in subscription traps, it’s in platforms that let you build, test, and learn without regret.

I’ve had to go through the shoddy and the half-decent to get here. But now I know what to look for: tools that respect the user. Tools that don’t just charge you—they empower you.

And those are the ones worth paying for.