According to September CPI data, computers, peripherals and smart-home assistants saw a 9.7% year-over-year increase, the largest annual rise since at least 2006. Software and accessories were up 28.4% year-over-year. These figures highlight growing concerns that surging demand for AI computing power and hardware could be pushing technology costs higher, adding another source of pressure to U.S. inflation and complicating the Federal Reserve's efforts to bring inflation back to its 2% target.