Elon Musk has mocked OpenAI CEO Sam Altman over his argument that keeping large amounts of RAM in personal computers is a poor use of a limited global supply. Musk shared a meme on X showing a scene inspired by the film Inglourious Basterds, with the caption: “The people deserve to have their RAM too!”
Altman made the remarks during an appearance on the YouTube channel Cheeky Pint. He argued that, from a global allocation perspective, it was “quite terrible” for people to have DRAM sitting in home computers that may be used only 5% of the time. He said cloud systems could make better use of the constrained supply, particularly as demand for AI infrastructure grows.
The comments have drawn criticism and confusion as consumers face higher prices for computing hardware. Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan has warned of continued shortages and price increases, while Dell CEO Michael Dell has said the memory shortage could worsen through 2027. Samsung and SK hynix have also warned that AI-driven memory shortages may continue until 2027 and beyond.
Altman has reportedly met with around 50 senior Samsung executives in South Korea as OpenAI seeks additional hardware to expand its AI capacity. The report does not indicate that the meeting resulted in any specific supply agreement.
Sources: TechRadar.