Learning to use local AI is exciting, overwhelming, and frustrating

The author is beginning a journey to regularly use AI, specifically focusing on running powerful models locally to avoid giving personal data to cloud services. This exploration aims to determine if the utility of local AI justifies investing in expensive computer hardware with ample RAM. The author, not an AI expert, will document their experience, starting with using Hermes to organize their Steam library, to help others decide if this path is worthwhile.

This account offers a first-person perspective on the practicalities and frustrations of setting up local AI, unlike many reports that focus solely on technical specifications or theoretical benefits.