Corporations don’t have feelings. And yet, they want others to think they do—and that we’re being too rough on them.
Twice this past week, major tech companies appealed to empathy. One bid bubbled up in a Wccftech interview with Micron, when the memory producer was asked if it and other suppliers were abandoning consumers. The response: “Our viewpoint is that we are trying to help consumers around the world. We’re just doing it through different channels. […] What’s going on right now is that the TAM [ed: Total Addressable Market] and data center is growing just absolutely tremendously. And we want to make sure that, as a company, we help fulfill that TAM as well.”
The other came from Nvidia, with CEO Jensen Huang calling gloomy views of AI “extremely hurtful” during a discussion on the No Priors podcast. Huang’s take: “I think we’ve done a lot of damage lately with very well-respected people who have painted a doomer narrative, end of the world narrative, science fiction narrative. […] It’s not helpful to people, it’s not helpful to the industry, it’s not helpful to society, it’s not helpful to the governments.”
I was struck by the argument Huang went on to present in that same podcast segment, which suggests AI is going through growing pains while reaching the goal of functionality, and such negativity hinders and slows that progress—as well as that of the podcast hosts, who seeded the idea of self-interest as the motivator for regulatory action. That those seeking regulation may be trying to freeze out new startups, not save humanity.
There’s a lesson here for those of us in the stands—everyone is looking out for their own interests, including consumers. And we should be smart about appeals to emotion, because they’re not always in the interest of the listener.
Micron reported a revenue of $37.38 billion for fiscal year 2025. Nvidia reported a revenue of $57 billion for just its latest quarter. AI is hot.
Meanwhile, inflation and interest rates continue to depress consumer spending power here in the U.S., which is reflected abroad as well. AI has also torched jobs—it’s fueled thousands of layoffs already.
Sure, in the grand scheme of things, the fevered pace of tech often has led to good outcomes in the end. But that doesn’t change the individual impact of incomes lost, plans destroyed, security evaporated. So when a company makes a play for my agreement through emotion, I always wonder: Who benefits from this vision?
In this case, consumers not being completely shut out isn’t the win Micron delicately posited. RAM now costs triple what it did just bare months ago—many will still be effectively shut out from upgrades and replacement PCs. For Nvidia’s part, the hints that zero regulation benefits progress ignores the human element: As the saying goes, regulations are often written in blood. How much regulation is warranted is a different conversation, and a reasonable one to have.
But you can’t have a reasonable discussion without some critique or outright criticism. When companies appeal to emotion, I wonder why it doesn’t cut both ways. I wonder who benefits. In the case of technology right now, certainly not individuals. This approach isn’t a fair tactic. None of us should accept it as such.
In this episode of The Full Nerd, Will Smith, Adam Patrick Murray, Alaina Yee, and Michael Crider give CES 2026 a final send-off with a look at the smaller things we liked at the show. I’m still considering building my own E-Ink picture display now. If technology can save me from my sad bachelor-esque habits, I’m for it.
Also, Will did make me feel better that I’m not as bad as I thought, regarding home decor. I have a couch, sir. And even a coffee table!
I was not in the majority on my opinion of the show floor robots, though.
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I can’t say I’m mad about the slow flow of news this week—I guess everyone’s still wrung out from CES 2026…or just tired from counting all the mentions of AI from the keynotes. (I would like to note that Will and I got our count through pure, old-fashioned grit.)
Still, there’s plenty to eye with speculation. Or outright suspicion. (I’m giving that supposed Steam Machine pricing some side-eye.)
Gosh, what a banger of a start to the new year. I thought I’d spend most of this week sneaking in complaints about crowded gyms. Yes, it’s absolutely other people’s fault I ate too much and drank a ton of Will’s excellent eggnog. (Thanks again for sharing that with us!)
Catch you all next week!
Alaina
This newsletter is dedicated to the memory of Gordon Mah Ung, founder and host of The Full Nerd, and executive editor of hardware at PCWorld.
Author: Alaina Yee
Source: PCWorld
Reviewed By: Editorial Team
