More than 80% of professional economic forecasters now believe the AI building boom will push prices higher for everyday Americans — and the bill is already showing up in your electricity costs and tech purchases.

At a Glance

• Over 80% of forecasters surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics say the AI buildout will drive inflation higher over the next year.
• AI data centers are competing with other industries for copper, memory chips, and skilled workers — pushing up prices across the board.
• UBS estimates the AI spending surge is already adding roughly 0.4% to core consumer prices, with some analysts projecting a half-point increase by end of 2026.
• Supporters argue AI will eventually cut costs through automation, but no hard data yet shows those savings reaching consumers.

A New Inflation Driver You Didn’t Vote For

Americans have spent years fighting inflation caused by pandemic spending, energy policy, and supply chain breakdowns. Now a new pressure is building. The massive push to build artificial intelligence (AI) data centers is soaking up copper, memory chips, and electrical equipment at a record pace. That leaves less of everything for the companies that make laptops, appliances, and other everyday goods — and prices go up as a result.

A survey released in June 2026 by the National Association for Business Economics found that more than 80% of professional forecasters believe the AI buildout will be inflationary over the next year. That’s not a fringe opinion — it’s a strong consensus among the people whose job it is to track where the economy is headed. The Wall Street Journal has called it a “third wave of inflation,” following the pandemic surge and the energy price shock.

How Building Data Centers Hits Your Wallet

When tech giants race to build AI data centers, they need enormous amounts of copper wiring, specialized memory chips, and heavy electrical equipment. Leah Brooks, a public policy professor at George Washington University, explains it simply: AI companies are competing for a fixed pool of materials and workers. Other industries get pushed aside and pay more to stay in line. Those higher costs flow downstream — right into the products you buy.

Electricity is a clear example. AI data centers draw huge amounts of power, creating a sudden demand shock on the grid. Supply can’t keep up overnight, so rates climb. You don’t have to own an AI product to feel it — anyone paying a power bill is exposed. UBS, the global financial firm, estimates the AI spending wave is already pushing up core consumer prices — a measure that strips out food and energy — by about 0.4%. Some analysts put the total impact closer to half a percentage point by the end of 2026.

The “AI Will Save Money” Argument — and Its Limits

Tech industry supporters push back with a fair point: AI can make things cheaper over time. Automation cuts labor costs. Smarter software speeds up work that used to take weeks. One law firm chair reported that AI slashed the cost of a major legal project from $3 million to $900,000. These are real gains. If they spread widely enough, they could offset some of the price pressure the buildout creates.

The problem is timing and evidence. Right now, the inflationary pressure is real and measurable. The deflationary payoff is still mostly a promise. No government agency — not the Bureau of Labor Statistics, not the Department of Energy, not the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission — has published a report that formally quantifies AI’s net effect on consumer prices in either direction. That gap matters. It means ordinary Americans are absorbing the costs today while waiting on benefits that may or may not arrive on schedule. History offers a caution here: big infrastructure booms almost always spike input prices first and deliver efficiency gains later — sometimes much later. The people least able to wait are the ones who feel the squeeze the most.

Sources:

washingtontimes.com, marketplace.org, instagram.com, news.ycombinator.com