AI hits the real world: soaring hardware costs are hurting everyday users

The race in artificial intelligence is now being felt not only in data centers but also in ordinary users’ wallets. Analysts note that growing demand for chips, memory, and high‑performance AI servers is creating component shortages and pushing up prices in the consumer electronics market.​

According to industry observers, manufacturers prioritize supplies to cloud and enterprise customers, where margins are higher. As a result, the retail market is seeing noticeable price spikes for SSDs, RAM modules, and graphics cards used in standard laptops and desktop PCs. Several popular solid‑state drive models have become markedly more expensive in just a few months, and forecasts suggest the shortage may persist at least until 2027.​

This situation turns the infrastructure boom around AI into a problem for the consumer segment. On one hand, companies are pouring billions of dollars into building data centers and training models; on the other, users are confronted with rising prices for basic devices they need for work and entertainment. Experts warn that if the trend continues, manufacturers will have to find a better balance between corporate and mass‑market segments and invest more aggressively in expanding production capacity to avoid a long‑term structural imbalance.