Apparently, the RAM in your laptop would be better off in a data centre. Conveni
By Roymurphy · November 3, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
Apparently, the RAM in your laptop would be better off in a data centre.
Convenient argument from someone selling access to one.
On the Cheeky Pint podcast, Sam Altman argued that scarce memory sitting in personal computers, used only 5% of the time by his estimate, is inefficient compared with maximising its use in the cloud.
He was discussing local AI, rather than calling for everyone to surrender their laptops.
But the argument is worth questioning.
There’s a reasonable efficiency point here.
Shared infrastructure can serve more people than hardware sitting idle.
But utilisation isn’t the only thing that matters.
My computer doesn’t need to be busy every minute to justify me owning it.
It needs to be available when I want it.
To run my software, keep my files and let me work without another company deciding the price, the limits or whether I still have access.
Those benefits don’t disappear because they’re harder to put in a spreadsheet.
I use cloud AI constantly.
It’s incredibly useful.
But I also want local models to improve, because having a choice matters.
A future where we rent all our computing from a handful of companies might be efficient for those companies. It also leaves us dependent on their subscriptions, policies and continued goodwill.
The person selling you access will always have a convincing argument for why ownership is unnecessary.
Doesn’t mean you have to buy it.