Is AI the End of Cheap Tech?
Amid all the talk of AI taking over people’s jobs, automating people’s workflows, and doing people’s homework, we’re learning that actually scaling this technology is a lot harder, and more expensive, than it seems. I think that we might just enter sort of like a wartime era, like the way that during World War II we had like meatless Tuesdays or something. Apple has raised prices on its MacBooks and iPads.
- ▪Amid all the talk of AI taking over people’s jobs, automating people’s workflows, and doing people’s homework, we’re learning that actually scaling this technology is a lot harder, and more expensive, than it seems.
- ▪I think that we might just enter sort of like a wartime era, like the way that during World War II we had like meatless Tuesdays or something.
- ▪Apple has raised prices on its MacBooks and iPads.
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Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
PodcastsIs AI the End of Cheap Tech?How the AI-driven memory crisis affects us all By Charlie WarzelIllustration by Renee Klahr / The AtlanticJuly 24, 2026, 1 PM ET ShareSave Listen−1.0x+Seek0:0038:34Subscribe here: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Pocket CastsElectronics are getting more expensive—and the culprit has a lot to do with generative AI. Amid all the talk of AI taking over people’s jobs, automating people’s workflows, and doing people’s homework, we’re learning that actually scaling this technology is a lot harder, and more expensive, than it seems.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at The Atlantic.
