Sam Altman says it's "quite terrible" that people use RAM in their PCs for AI during a shortage

Credit: OpenAI Published Oct 30, 2026, 9:03 PM EDT Simon is a Computer Science BSc graduate who has been writing about technology since 2014, and using Windows machines since 3.1. After working for an indie game studio and acting as the family's go-to technician for all computer issues, he found his passion for writing and decided to use his skill set to write about all things tech. Since beginning his writing career, he has written for many different publications such as WorldStart, Listverse, and MakeTechEasier. However, after finding his home at MakeUseOf in February 2019, he would eventually move on to its sister site, XDA, to bring the latest and greatest in Windows, Linux, and DIY electronics. Sign in to your XDA account Summary AI demand is driving up RAM costs, making consumer sticks pricier. Altman implies underused PC RAM should be in cloud data centers for higher utilization in an interview. His remarks suggest a preference for cloud over consumer RAM, which shows a worrying trend if true. If you've been RAM shopping any time in the last year or so, you've probably noticed that memory costs quite a bit more than it used to. Part of the reason is due to the increase in RAM usage for AI, as companies purchase large batches of sticks to cover their needs. Now, Sam Altman has gone on record saying that it's "quite terrible" that some of the limited amount of RAM in the world are in people's PCs. People using the RAM in their PCs 5% of the time is "quite terrible," says OpenAI's Sam Altman It was from a "global allocation perspective," but it's still a worrying one Over in an interview on the Cheeky Pint (via IGN), Sam Altman discussed the current state of RAM. In the interview, he brings up that people want to run open-source AI on their own hardware. However, according to Altman, that's not a great thing: From a global allocation perspective, actually, it's quite terrible to have everybody have a bunch of the world's limited supply of DRAM sitting in their own computer, and being used maybe 5% of the time. Like, you want maximum utilization in the cloud if you're trying to deal with this very supply constrained environment. And somehow many people's intuition is the opposite of that. It seems his point was that, in a shortage, he would prefer RAM in data centers where it'll be put to task for hours in a day, rather than someone's computer where it'll only be used a fraction of the time. And from a "global allocation perspective," I can see what he means. But overall, I feel his statement has partially shown his hand and disposition toward consumers, particularly the last sentence: "And somehow many people's intuition is the opposite of that." I got the feeling that he thinks RAM sticks in his data centers are worth more than the RAM in people's PCs, whether they run AI off them or not. As if people should allow OpenAI to have the lion's share of RAM so that it can run more powerful AI models in the cloud. And that really comes off poorly in my eyes. Regardless, this is just inference and speculation from a single interview, and it's not indicative of OpenAI's entire stance around the RAM shortage. However, I'd be lying if I said it didn't worry me at least a little bit.