AI can save minutes but create hours of extra work
In firsthand use, AI does not always save time. It can make some clear tasks faster, but it also makes people start many tasks they would not have tried before.
A job that once meant paying 5 euros a month for a plugin and finishing in 15 minutes can turn into asking Claude to build the plugin and then polishing it for hours. When that time is counted as income, the work can cost about 1,000 euros, on top of a 200-euro monthly .
The old way would have been finished quickly, but the AI way can consume the little free time left after work. Weak app ideas that once felt not worth funding can become oversized requests for a huge SaaS product, and a few hours later there is an overcomplicated for something like an AI-powered Slack re for defense drones.
Key points
- AI can reduce time on specific tasks while increasing total work.
- A 15-minute paid plugin choice can become many hours of custom building and polishing.
- The real cost can include about 1,000 euros of time plus a 200-euro monthly .
- AI makes it easier to build for ideas that may not deserve that effort.
- should decide the value and scope before starting an AI build.