America is witnessing the birth of its next underclass, a permanent, tech-illiterate sub-stratosphere of the workforce, as artificial intelligence reshapes societal norms and economic value. The defining divide of the next decade will not be a simple gradient of rich versus poor, but a two-tier caste system separating those who can command AI from those who cannot, according to recent analysis.
Nvidia chief Jensen Huang warned that AI demands “new social norms,” comparing its arrival to the automobile, where technology outpaced the rules for survival. The wreckage from AI is predicted to be measured in broken dreams and erased bank accounts, rather than physical harm. Huang advised, “Just go engage it,” as the market prepares to punish holdouts with a savagery not seen since the Industrial Revolution.
The New Underclass
Work that recently required a specialist and a six-figure salary now requires one person and a clear request, as the tools improve at a punishing, exponential pace. The walls around professional expertise are being demolished in real time, fundamentally altering the value of traditional labor. An ordinary person with zero coding knowledge can now build a website, dissect a dense legal contract, or project a corporate budget, making skills once locked behind a $100,000 university degree suddenly available to anyone who can type a coherent sentence.
The traditional corporate ladder is shifting into a sheer cliff, with avoiding AI described as a professional suicide pact. A middle schooler who treats ChatGPT like a calculator is projected to eclipse salaries of those who refuse to adapt. The blacksmith who laughed at the Model T did not slow Henry Ford’s assembly line, and the travel agent who mocked the internet did not stop Expedia, illustrating the inevitability of this technological shift.
AI is creating a permanent realignment of human value, establishing a new underclass defined by what people are no longer capable of doing. Power no longer tracks the size of the building one walks into each morning, but rather the ability to direct the machine. A corner bodega can now deploy data analytics that once required multinational infrastructure, and a scrappy startup can launch with a solo founder and a suite of algorithms instead of a staff of 40.
Elite Profits, Public Pays
Separately, Apple has begun charging more for some of its products, with AI cited as a primary reason for these increases. The price hikes apply to select iPads and MacBooks, along with HomePod speakers and Apple TV devices. Apple’s own store pages now reflect higher prices on several models compared to earlier launch materials.
Apple stated it can no longer fully shield customers from soaring memory and storage chip costs, which are tied to AI data center demand. This pressure stems from what some in the tech industry refer to as RAMageddon. AI data centers require immense amounts of DRAM and high-bandwidth memory to train and run advanced models, which are the same basic chip categories powering consumer devices.
Tim Cook, Apple’s outgoing CEO, had warned earlier this year that memory costs would increasingly affect Apple after the June quarter. Apple has now reached the point where it needs to begin passing some of those costs to customers. The MacBook Neo’s starting price moved from $599 to $699, months after launch. The MacBook Air with 512GB of storage rose to $1,299 from $1,099. The 14-inch MacBook Pro with 1TB of storage rose to $1,999 from $1,699. The iPad Air with 128GB of storage rose to $749 from $599. The HomePod mini rose to $129 from $99, while HomePod rose to $349 from $299. Apple TV rose to $199 from $129. While the iPhone was not included in this round of increases, analysts warn that this may not last, with expectations for potential iPhone price hikes in the coming months. Earlier this year, Apple also agreed to a $250 million settlement tied to claims that it overstated or delayed certain AI features connected to Siri and Apple Intelligence, though Apple denied wrongdoing. More on-device AI can also raise hardware demands over time, potentially making future premium models even more expensive if features require more memory, storage, or powerful chips.