OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said it’s “quite terrible” for so much scarce DRAM to sit in people’s own computers, where it’s used only about 5% of the time, in an interview on the Cheeky Pint YouTube show. He argued the memory would do more good in cloud data centers that can run it near full capacity, and said most people’s instincts on that point run backward. Oh no, won’t someone think of the AI data centers! The comments drew pushback because AI demand for memory, including OpenAI’s own supply deals, has already pushed up prices for gaming PCs and consoles like the PS5. Altman said he hopes costs for energy and chips come down, but that supply will have to grow a lot first.
