Staff’s Name: Muizzuddin Munir
Book Title: ‘Shaping the fourth industrial revolution’
Author: Klaus Schwab and Nicholas Davis
Year of Publication: 2018
“AI has improved rapidly in recent years due to machine-learning techniques that take advantage of the increase in available data, sensors and processing power. Machine learning has reached a level where it is capable of mimicking close to (or better than) human-level interaction in constrained scenarios involving areas such as gameplay, customer service queries, medical diagnostics and the navigation of autonomous vehicles.” (Schwab & Davis, 2018)
Artificial Intelligence is proving its usefulness in the office and in classrooms, helping executives, teachers, and students automate tasks, improve decision-making, and increase productivity.
However, not all are rainbows and sunshine as the rise of artificial intelligence is also affecting, nay, disrupting the market for consumer-grade tech. Case in point: prices of random-access memories (RAM) have shot up, caused by the ever-growing demand for AI.
In case you don’t know, a computer’s random-access memory or RAM, is a short-term memory device that stores information that the processor needs to access quickly, unlike long-term storage such as hard drives, which are slower to read and write. As AI systems grow more complex, their need for fast, high-capacity memory has increased dramatically
Modern AI models, including generative AI and large language models, rely heavily on advanced memory such as DDR5 (Double Data Rate 5) server DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) and high-bandwidth memory. A single AI data centre can consume as much RAM as tens of thousands of personal computers, making cloud providers and hyperscale operators the biggest buyers in the market. It is reported that the US-based AI organisation, OpenAI, made a deal to purchase large sums of RAM with the two memory giants; Samsung Electronics, & SK Hynix. To give you a picture of the scale of the deal, 900,000 RAM wafers will be supplied to OpenAI monthly in 2026; about 40% of the global supply.
This shift has created supply constraints. High-margin enterprise and AI products are being prioritised by memory manufacturers, leaving less room for consumer RAM. PCs and upgrades have become more costly because of the increase in server and consumer memory prices. Here in Malaysia, the price of 16GB of RAM in 2025 was RM180 to RM220. Today, the same RAM module will cost almost double the price, between RM300 and RM380, reflecting rising global memory prices and stronger demand from AI infrastructure.
It’s unlikely that supply will catch up fast. After previous boom-and-bust cycles, chipmakers continue to exercise caution as semiconductor manufacturing takes years to grow. If investments in AI infrastructure continue, analysts predict that RAM prices will stay high, affecting technology with RAM usage such as computers, smartphones, and even automotive. Are you planning to upgrade any of tech above? If so, be prepared to pay extra.
It’s becoming increasingly apparent that AI is more than just a software revolution. Memory is becoming a vital and expensive resource in the global technology industry due to a hardware-driven force. Progress comes with a cost, and one of them is affecting the everyday user.
Read more about Artificial Intelligence, and its role in shaping the fourth industrial revolution on the publication ‘Shaping the fourth industrial revolution’ by Klaus Schwab and Nicholas Davis, available at the Perdana Library.
Sources:
Schwab, K., & Davis, N. (2018). Shaping the fourth industrial revolution. World Economic Forum; Crown Business.
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