American consumers — and the Federal Reserve — are being hit with another high-cost headache. The gusher of investment in data centers — likely topping $700 billion this year — to power artificial intelligence has made memory chips, computer processors, and other equipment, as well as electricity mo

Personal computing becomes more expensive just as more powerful hardware is needed for AI-enabled software. That creates a widening affordability gap.

Consumer electronics, from laptops and smartphones to gaming consoles, are becoming increasingly costlier as artificial intelligence data centers drive up...