You can blame AI for lots of things, from the environmental impact of enormous AI data centers consuming massive amounts of land, water and power to AI slop that is somehow making advertising and social media even worse . And now, as you watch your electricity bill rise while sitting through terrible McDonald's and Coca-Cola holiday commercials , you can blame AI for the rising cost of computers.

The AI boom has led to a shortage of PC memory , as AI companies gobble up RAM and storage to help power the thousands of servers in their growing number of data centers. This increased demand has resulted in a sharp spike in the price of RAM -- the same RAM found in laptops and desktops. And computer manufacturers seem ready to pass this cost onto consumers.

See Full Page