The great memory squeeze: Why AI is making your gadgets expensive
Remember when you thought AI would just steal your job? Turns out, it's also coming for your wallet, specifically for the privilege of owning a smartphone that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. While we're all busy asking ChatGPT to write our grocery lists, the AI overlords are quietly gobbling up every available memory chip on the planet, leaving mere mortals to pay premium prices for devices that once felt like a human right. So, next time your laptop lags, just remember it's probably because some generative AI model needed another terabyte to dream up a cat wearing a monocle.
Indeed, the seemingly insatiable demand from AI data centers has triggered a global memory chip shortage, sending prices for these crucial components skyrocketing. Manufacturers, understandably, are prioritizing lucrative AI clients who purchase chips in bulk for their high-performance computing needs, from training complex models to processing vast datasets. This shift means a significant reduction in the supply of memory chips allocated for consumer electronics like smartphones, laptops, and gaming consoles, directly translating to higher production costs for these gadgets, and ultimately, steeper prices for you, the end-user.
