Cory Gardner writes at National Review Online about a technological challenge for America.
The United States is building the world’s most advanced AI infrastructure. In the process, however, we are overlooking a critical vulnerability: the basic semiconductor components that make that system usable in the real world.
At the center of that vulnerability is Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DRAM), the essential memory chip at the core of nearly every computing device on earth. Demand for these chips is surging — driven overwhelmingly by AI — but supply is not keeping up. According to Bloomberg Intelligence, data centers already account for roughly 50 percent of global chip consumption in 2025 — up from 32 percent just five years earlier. By 2030, AI servers are expected to command a clear majority of the global memory supply. In the near term, Tom’s Hardware reports that data centers will absorb up to 70 percent of all memory chips manufactured in 2026 alone.
That leaves the rest of the global economy — hospitals, manufacturers, automakers, schools, local and federal governments, and the internet service providers carrying America’s digital traffic — competing for a shrinking share of what’s left. The consequences of these shortages are already cascading across industries. Honda has cut North American production by 110,000 vehicles. Micron has called the situation “unprecedented.” Intel told investors there will be “no relief” for the memory shortage until 2028. And Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla’s only option is to build its own memory fabrication plant.
This is what a structural supply failure looks like in real time — not a dip, not a cycle, not a temporary shortage, but a permanent reallocation of global silicon capacity driven by AI’s insatiable demand.
Nowhere is this more concerning — and perhaps more ironic — than in broadband and Wi-Fi infrastructure, the real workhorse of the internet. The routers, gateways, and network equipment that form the backbone of American internet access — the infrastructure that will ultimately carry the tsunami of AI-generated traffic — are being neglected as chipmakers shift production to more advanced AI chips.
