How AI is changing work · Estimate
The check stays. The burn climbs.
Each square is one token burned for each token checked. The red pile is speed reading.
15
Thorough. 200 words a minute. 16,000 passed, 16,000 checked, 240,000 burned.
34
Skim. 450 words a minute. 36,000 passed, 16,000 checked, 540,000 burned.
45
Scan. 600 words a minute. 48,000 passed, 16,000 checked, 720,000 burned.
75
Speed reading. 1,000 words a minute. 80,000 passed, 16,000 checked, 1,200,000 burned.
How the counts are made
Tokens of text are 60 times the pace in words a minute, times 1.33, rounded to the nearest thousand. Details checked use the thorough count once the reader is faster than 200 words a minute. Tokens burned are the tokens of text times 15. Burned per token checked is 15 times the pace, divided by 200, rounded to a whole number. The 15 is a round figure for the calculation. It is not a GDPval measurement.
The finding fails if the details people catch rise with speed, or if the tokens burned for each token of text fall as fast as the speed rises. Setting the thorough pace at Carver's ordinary 300 words a minute raises how much can be checked. Skimming at 450 words a minute still does not raise the details verified. The 450 and 600 word paces are Carver's skim and scan gears. The 1,000 row is this site's speed-reading row.
| Pace | Tokens passed | Details checked, held flat | Tokens burned | Burned per token checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thorough, 200 words a minute | 16,000 | 16,000 | 240,000 | 15 |
| Skim, 450 | 36,000 | 16,000 | 540,000 | 34 |
| Scan, 600 | 48,000 | 16,000 | 720,000 | 45 |
| Speed reading, 1,000 | 80,000 | 16,000 | 1,200,000 | 75 |
Other readings, not in the drawing. AI saved 2.1% of all US work hours in August 2026, and 2.2% in May of 2026. It assisted 5.3% of hours in August 2026, 6.3% in May of 2026, and 4.1% in November 2024. St. Louis Fed via FRED. Duggan and Payne (2009) gave people only enough time to read half a text. Skimming caught the important ideas at 83%, against 67% for people who read half the text normally in the same time. Details and inferences showed no reliable gain. The section on the home page.