Marketplace Tech Bytes: Week in Review - Micron's big earnings, Oracle's data center woes and "slop" is Merriam-Webster's word of the year
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Dec 19, 2025 Anita Ramaswamy, a technology columnist at The Information, dives into the booming world of AI memory demand, explaining Micron Technology's surge in sales. She highlights the vast GPU memory needs for AI systems compared to consumer devices, revealing the rising prices consumers face. The discussion also touches on Oracle’s risky data center investments and the community backlash against them. Lastly, they explore Merriam-Webster's word of the year, 'slop,' reflecting concerns over low-quality AI-generated content.
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Memory Is The Unsung AI Bottleneck
- Micron's high-bandwidth memory chips are critical components paired with GPUs for AI workloads.
- These chips provide orders-of-magnitude more memory than consumer laptops, fueling data-center AI processing.
Micron Exits Consumer Drive Market
- Micron rapidly shifted away from consumer drives to focus on AI customers this year.
- Anita notes the company decided to exit the consumer drive business to prioritize data-center sales.
AI Demand Is Driving Consumer Price Shock
- AI-driven demand has sharply increased memory prices, squeezing consumers.
- Anita and Megan point to examples of drive prices jumping multiple-fold this year.