Disco Bot / AI Search broken with Gemini after updating to 2026.8.0

Contribute Bug
,
1

After updating to 2026.8.0 the AI discovery feature no longer works when using Gemini Flash Latest (3.7) as the model. On the search UI the Disco Bot throws an error. In the site logs I see this:

Message (4 copies reported)

Job exception: {
  "error": {
    "code": 400,
    "message": "Role 'function' is not supported. Please use a valid role: SYSTEM, SYSTEM_1, USER, ASSISTANT, DEVELOPER, CONTEXT, USER_CONTEXT, MODEL, USER.",
    "status": "INVALID_ARGUMENT"
  }
}


Backtrace

/var/www/discourse/plugins/discourse-ai/lib/completions/endpoints/base.rb:346:in 'block (3 levels) in DiscourseAi::Completions::Endpoints::Base#perform_completion_request_with_retries'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/net-http-0.9.1/lib/net/http.rb:2461:in 'block in Net::HTTP#transport_request'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/net-http-0.9.1/lib/net/http/response.rb:321:in 'Net::HTTPResponse#reading_body'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/net-http-0.9.1/lib/net/http.rb:2458:in 'Net::HTTP#transport_request'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/net-http-0.9.1/lib/net/http.rb:2410:in 'Net::HTTP#request'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/rack-mini-profiler-4.0.1/lib/patches/net_patches.rb:19:in 'block in Net::HTTP#request_with_mini_profiler'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/rack-mini-profiler-4.0.1/lib/mini_profiler/profiling_methods.rb:51:in 'Rack::MiniProfiler::ProfilingMethods#step'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/rack-mini-profiler-4.0.1/lib/patches/net_patches.rb:18:in 'Net::HTTP#request_with_mini_profiler'
/var/www/discourse/plugins/discourse-ai/lib/completions/endpoints/base.rb:334:in 'block (2 levels) in DiscourseAi::Completions::Endpoints::Base#perform_completion_request_with_retries'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/net-http-0.9.1/lib/net/http.rb:1630:in 'Net::HTTP#start'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/net-http-0.9.1/lib/net/http.rb:1064:in 'Net::HTTP.start'
/var/www/discourse/plugins/discourse-ai/lib/completions/endpoints/base.rb:315:in 'block in DiscourseAi::Completions::Endpoints::Base#perform_completion_request_with_retries'
<internal:kernel>:168:in 'Kernel#loop'
/var/www/discourse/plugins/discourse-ai/lib/completions/endpoints/base.rb:291:in 'DiscourseAi::Completions::Endpoints::Base#perform_completion_request_with_retries'
/var/www/discourse/plugins/discourse-ai/lib/completions/endpoints/base.rb:192:in 'DiscourseAi::Completions::Endpoints::Base#perform_completion!'
/var/www/discourse/plugins/discourse-ai/lib/completions/llm.rb:254:in 'DiscourseAi::Completions::Llm#generate'
/var/www/discourse/plugins/discourse-ai/lib/agents/bot.rb:269:in 'DiscourseAi::Agents::Bot#reply'
/var/www/discourse/plugins/discourse-ai/app/jobs/regular/stream_discover_reply.rb:43:in 'Jobs::StreamDiscoverReply#execute'
/var/www/discourse/app/jobs/base.rb:313:in 'block (2 levels) in Jobs::Base#perform'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/rails_multisite-7.0.0/lib/rails_multisite/connection_management/null_instance.rb:49:in 'RailsMultisite::ConnectionManagement::NullInstance#with_connection'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/rails_multisite-7.0.0/lib/rails_multisite/connection_management.rb:17:in 'RailsMultisite::ConnectionManagement.with_connection'
/var/www/discourse/app/jobs/base.rb:300:in 'block in Jobs::Base#perform'
/var/www/discourse/app/jobs/base.rb:297:in 'Array#each'
/var/www/discourse/app/jobs/base.rb:297:in 'Jobs::Base#perform'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:220:in 'Sidekiq::Processor#execute_job'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:185:in 'block (4 levels) in Sidekiq::Processor#process'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/middleware/chain.rb:180:in 'Sidekiq::Middleware::Chain#traverse'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/middleware/chain.rb:183:in 'block in Sidekiq::Middleware::Chain#traverse'
/var/www/discourse/lib/sidekiq/suppress_user_email_errors.rb:6:in 'Sidekiq::SuppressUserEmailErrors#call'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/middleware/chain.rb:182:in 'Sidekiq::Middleware::Chain#traverse'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/middleware/chain.rb:183:in 'block in Sidekiq::Middleware::Chain#traverse'
/var/www/discourse/lib/sidekiq/discourse_event.rb:6:in 'Sidekiq::DiscourseEvent#call'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/middleware/chain.rb:182:in 'Sidekiq::Middleware::Chain#traverse'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/middleware/chain.rb:183:in 'block in Sidekiq::Middleware::Chain#traverse'
/var/www/discourse/lib/sidekiq/pausable.rb:131:in 'Sidekiq::Pausable#call'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/middleware/chain.rb:182:in 'Sidekiq::Middleware::Chain#traverse'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/middleware/chain.rb:183:in 'block in Sidekiq::Middleware::Chain#traverse'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/job/interrupt_handler.rb:9:in 'Sidekiq::Job::InterruptHandler#call'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/middleware/chain.rb:182:in 'Sidekiq::Middleware::Chain#traverse'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/middleware/chain.rb:183:in 'block in Sidekiq::Middleware::Chain#traverse'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/metrics/tracking.rb:26:in 'Sidekiq::Metrics::ExecutionTracker#track'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/metrics/tracking.rb:134:in 'Sidekiq::Metrics::Middleware#call'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/middleware/chain.rb:182:in 'Sidekiq::Middleware::Chain#traverse'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/middleware/chain.rb:173:in 'Sidekiq::Middleware::Chain#invoke'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:184:in 'block (3 levels) in Sidekiq::Processor#process'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:145:in 'block (6 levels) in Sidekiq::Processor#dispatch'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/job_retry.rb:118:in 'Sidekiq::JobRetry#local'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:144:in 'block (5 levels) in Sidekiq::Processor#dispatch'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/config.rb:39:in 'block in <class:Config>'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:139:in 'block (4 levels) in Sidekiq::Processor#dispatch'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:281:in 'Sidekiq::Processor#stats'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:134:in 'block (3 levels) in Sidekiq::Processor#dispatch'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/job_logger.rb:15:in 'Sidekiq::JobLogger#call'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:133:in 'block (2 levels) in Sidekiq::Processor#dispatch'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/job_retry.rb:85:in 'Sidekiq::JobRetry#global'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:132:in 'block in Sidekiq::Processor#dispatch'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/job_logger.rb:40:in 'Sidekiq::JobLogger#prepare'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:131:in 'Sidekiq::Processor#dispatch'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:183:in 'block (2 levels) in Sidekiq::Processor#process'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:182:in 'Thread.handle_interrupt'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:182:in 'block in Sidekiq::Processor#process'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:181:in 'Thread.handle_interrupt'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:181:in 'Sidekiq::Processor#process'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:86:in 'Sidekiq::Processor#process_one'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:76:in 'Sidekiq::Processor#run'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/component.rb:10:in 'Sidekiq::Component#watchdog'
/var/www/discourse/vendor/bundle/ruby/3.4.0/gems/sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/component.rb:19:in 'block in Sidekiq::Component#safe_thread'

Message (4 copies reported)

DiscourseAi::Completions::Endpoints::Gemini: status: 400 - body: {
  "error": {
    "code": 400,
    "message": "Role 'function' is not supported. Please use a valid role: SYSTEM, SYSTEM_1, USER, ASSISTANT, DEVELOPER, CONTEXT, USER_CONTEXT, MODEL, USER.",
    "status": "INVALID_ARGUMENT"
  }
}


Backtrace

activesupport-8.0.5.1/lib/active_support/broadcast_logger.rb:218:in 'block in ActiveSupport::BroadcastLogger#dispatch'
activesupport-8.0.5.1/lib/active_support/broadcast_logger.rb:217:in 'Array#map'
activesupport-8.0.5.1/lib/active_support/broadcast_logger.rb:217:in 'ActiveSupport::BroadcastLogger#dispatch'
activesupport-8.0.5.1/lib/active_support/broadcast_logger.rb:129:in 'ActiveSupport::BroadcastLogger#error'
/var/www/discourse/plugins/discourse-ai/lib/completions/endpoints/base.rb:703:in 'Kernel#public_send'
/var/www/discourse/plugins/discourse-ai/lib/completions/endpoints/base.rb:703:in 'DiscourseAi::Completions::Endpoints::Base#failed_response_retry_status_and_delay'
/var/www/discourse/plugins/discourse-ai/lib/completions/endpoints/base.rb:339:in 'block (3 levels) in DiscourseAi::Completions::Endpoints::Base#perform_completion_request_with_retries'
net-http-0.9.1/lib/net/http.rb:2461:in 'block in Net::HTTP#transport_request'
net-http-0.9.1/lib/net/http/response.rb:321:in 'Net::HTTPResponse#reading_body'
net-http-0.9.1/lib/net/http.rb:2458:in 'Net::HTTP#transport_request'
net-http-0.9.1/lib/net/http.rb:2410:in 'Net::HTTP#request'
rack-mini-profiler-4.0.1/lib/patches/net_patches.rb:19:in 'block in Net::HTTP#request_with_mini_profiler'
rack-mini-profiler-4.0.1/lib/mini_profiler/profiling_methods.rb:51:in 'Rack::MiniProfiler::ProfilingMethods#step'
rack-mini-profiler-4.0.1/lib/patches/net_patches.rb:18:in 'Net::HTTP#request_with_mini_profiler'
/var/www/discourse/plugins/discourse-ai/lib/completions/endpoints/base.rb:334:in 'block (2 levels) in DiscourseAi::Completions::Endpoints::Base#perform_completion_request_with_retries'
net-http-0.9.1/lib/net/http.rb:1630:in 'Net::HTTP#start'
net-http-0.9.1/lib/net/http.rb:1064:in 'Net::HTTP.start'
/var/www/discourse/plugins/discourse-ai/lib/completions/endpoints/base.rb:315:in 'block in DiscourseAi::Completions::Endpoints::Base#perform_completion_request_with_retries'
<internal:kernel>:168:in 'Kernel#loop'
/var/www/discourse/plugins/discourse-ai/lib/completions/endpoints/base.rb:291:in 'DiscourseAi::Completions::Endpoints::Base#perform_completion_request_with_retries'
/var/www/discourse/plugins/discourse-ai/lib/completions/endpoints/base.rb:192:in 'DiscourseAi::Completions::Endpoints::Base#perform_completion!'
/var/www/discourse/plugins/discourse-ai/lib/completions/llm.rb:254:in 'DiscourseAi::Completions::Llm#generate'
/var/www/discourse/plugins/discourse-ai/lib/agents/bot.rb:269:in 'DiscourseAi::Agents::Bot#reply'
/var/www/discourse/plugins/discourse-ai/app/jobs/regular/stream_discover_reply.rb:43:in 'Jobs::StreamDiscoverReply#execute'
/var/www/discourse/app/jobs/base.rb:313:in 'block (2 levels) in Jobs::Base#perform'
rails_multisite-7.0.0/lib/rails_multisite/connection_management/null_instance.rb:49:in 'RailsMultisite::ConnectionManagement::NullInstance#with_connection'
rails_multisite-7.0.0/lib/rails_multisite/connection_management.rb:17:in 'RailsMultisite::ConnectionManagement.with_connection'
/var/www/discourse/app/jobs/base.rb:300:in 'block in Jobs::Base#perform'
/var/www/discourse/app/jobs/base.rb:297:in 'Array#each'
/var/www/discourse/app/jobs/base.rb:297:in 'Jobs::Base#perform'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:220:in 'Sidekiq::Processor#execute_job'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:185:in 'block (4 levels) in Sidekiq::Processor#process'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/middleware/chain.rb:180:in 'Sidekiq::Middleware::Chain#traverse'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/middleware/chain.rb:183:in 'block in Sidekiq::Middleware::Chain#traverse'
/var/www/discourse/lib/sidekiq/suppress_user_email_errors.rb:6:in 'Sidekiq::SuppressUserEmailErrors#call'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/middleware/chain.rb:182:in 'Sidekiq::Middleware::Chain#traverse'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/middleware/chain.rb:183:in 'block in Sidekiq::Middleware::Chain#traverse'
/var/www/discourse/lib/sidekiq/discourse_event.rb:6:in 'Sidekiq::DiscourseEvent#call'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/middleware/chain.rb:182:in 'Sidekiq::Middleware::Chain#traverse'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/middleware/chain.rb:183:in 'block in Sidekiq::Middleware::Chain#traverse'
/var/www/discourse/lib/sidekiq/pausable.rb:131:in 'Sidekiq::Pausable#call'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/middleware/chain.rb:182:in 'Sidekiq::Middleware::Chain#traverse'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/middleware/chain.rb:183:in 'block in Sidekiq::Middleware::Chain#traverse'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/job/interrupt_handler.rb:9:in 'Sidekiq::Job::InterruptHandler#call'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/middleware/chain.rb:182:in 'Sidekiq::Middleware::Chain#traverse'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/middleware/chain.rb:183:in 'block in Sidekiq::Middleware::Chain#traverse'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/metrics/tracking.rb:26:in 'Sidekiq::Metrics::ExecutionTracker#track'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/metrics/tracking.rb:134:in 'Sidekiq::Metrics::Middleware#call'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/middleware/chain.rb:182:in 'Sidekiq::Middleware::Chain#traverse'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/middleware/chain.rb:173:in 'Sidekiq::Middleware::Chain#invoke'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:184:in 'block (3 levels) in Sidekiq::Processor#process'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:145:in 'block (6 levels) in Sidekiq::Processor#dispatch'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/job_retry.rb:118:in 'Sidekiq::JobRetry#local'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:144:in 'block (5 levels) in Sidekiq::Processor#dispatch'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/config.rb:39:in 'block in <class:Config>'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:139:in 'block (4 levels) in Sidekiq::Processor#dispatch'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:281:in 'Sidekiq::Processor#stats'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:134:in 'block (3 levels) in Sidekiq::Processor#dispatch'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/job_logger.rb:15:in 'Sidekiq::JobLogger#call'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:133:in 'block (2 levels) in Sidekiq::Processor#dispatch'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/job_retry.rb:85:in 'Sidekiq::JobRetry#global'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:132:in 'block in Sidekiq::Processor#dispatch'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/job_logger.rb:40:in 'Sidekiq::JobLogger#prepare'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:131:in 'Sidekiq::Processor#dispatch'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:183:in 'block (2 levels) in Sidekiq::Processor#process'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:182:in 'Thread.handle_interrupt'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:182:in 'block in Sidekiq::Processor#process'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:181:in 'Thread.handle_interrupt'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:181:in 'Sidekiq::Processor#process'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:86:in 'Sidekiq::Processor#process_one'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/processor.rb:76:in 'Sidekiq::Processor#run'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/component.rb:10:in 'Sidekiq::Component#watchdog'
sidekiq-7.3.10/lib/sidekiq/component.rb:19:in 'block in Sidekiq::Component#safe_thread'

image

2

Can you try with the non legacy endpoints?

לייק 1
3

Yes that seems to work.

Need time to figure out how to migrate to the new interaction endpoints, in the meanwhile would nice to have it not break with existing setups.

4

Also, I’ve noticed that the latest model id’s do not work with the new interaction endpoints. For example gemini-flash-latest and gemini-flash-lite-latest do not work with the interaction endpoints. One needs to specify the version number - that’s a big problem (and likely dealbreaker for us personally) as it increases the overhead of site maintenance significantly. Gemini deprecates gemini versions faster than I can hire new employees and train them. Using the latest endpoint in the model id has saved us a lot of headache.

5

This is probably a good discussion for: Gemini API - Google AI Developers Forum

Long term interactions API is going to be the only supported API.

I completely understand why Google don’t want to alias “gemini-flash” → latest gemini flash. Prices vary wildly between models, 2.5 flash is way cheaper than 3.7 flash and both are supported atm.

You are going to need to watch this stuff, LLMs are moving very fast now.

Note that Gemini have actually moved slower than Anthropic or Open AI this year.

6

I understand what you’re saying but what I’m saying is from the perspective of an administrator running discourse. Most admins can’t keep up with this (and so it’s no point in me reporting this to google devs forum which are basically full of AI devs - not app admins).

My guess is most places deploy discourse and forget about it or with minimal support (like 90% of organizational apps that are built). Admins and budgets aren’t built to keep up with the pace of AI changes. I think in the end discourse will see the impact, in terms of fewer admins will deploy AI through discourse, to keep their overhead in check and production environment stable, if this entire “AI pace and lack of legacy compatibility” overhead is passed onto the admins.

7

I am hearing conflicting messages here though.

On one hand you are talking about budget concerns, but on the other hand you are saying “I want the latest and greatest and most expensive model from Google all the time”?

If you need to constrain costs (money) then you have to pin to a model. If this is a “I want the best, I don’t care what I pay”, I hear you, but then we are on the hook when gemini-flash-latest goes from $5 to $50 … then people will be like… why did you do that?

8

Increasing search costs from $50 to $100 per month for updating to a new model automatically v/s a $50,000 a year admin + training costs…first one wins. That’s the promise of AI anyways right? Incremental cost = significant improvement in TCO? Fewer searches because the AI results are more accurate and faster.

I’m atm deploying OpenClaw agents to replace new hires because it’s cheaper for me use Claude / ChatGPT / Gemini combinations than trying to hire and train new employees - plus I can literally hire a new agent with zero leadtime and zero training/onboarding because I can duplicate it.

The idea is to keep the overhead low and downtime close to zero. If I have to keep monitoring the setup and configuration on discouse every few weeks/months - it’s not worth updating discourse (atleast until I can have an AI agent for it for me and then again it’s a cost benefit analysis of how many tokens it will take for the agent to monitor the setup and keep it upto date - JUST to upgrade discourse).

It’s not about the latest and greatest, it’s simply about keeping TCO low (a trade off). The alternative is do not upgrade discourse.

9

This is not an alternative anymore, it is extremely dangerous running old unpatched versions of Discourse, you want to always be on a supported channel. Anybody self hosting Discourse should not ever treat this as “upgrade once a year”, at a minimum you probably need to be upgrading Discourse monthly.

We take security extremely seriously, the amount of eyes on every line of code we write has grown exponentially and there are new edge cases found every few days.

Of course that if you are hosted by us, this is not a concern you have, we upgrade our hosted LLMs regularly and provide you tokens out of the box so you don’t need to worry about this kind of stuff.

10

Interestingly I had a similar conversion with Microsoft a few years ago about when they deprecating some API’s in favor for new ones and I raised the same point - maintain backwards compability.

Even they agreed and eventually made it happen - it’s easier to maintain compatibility (without having to support/backport new features) and keep things running than not to use them at all.

image
image1174×239 14.6 KB