MIT Technology Review Narrated How to run an LLM on your laptop
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Aug 20, 2025 Discover the exciting world of running large language models right on your laptop! Learn about the benefits of user privacy and accessibility when utilizing local models. Dive into the technological advancements that make this possible, transforming everyday hardware into powerful tools. This discussion provides practical insights into how anyone can harness these models for personal use.
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USB Stick For Civilization's Knowledge
- Simon Willison stores downloadable LLMs on a USB stick as a survival plan for civilization collapse.
- He calls it a condensed, faulty version of Wikipedia to help reboot society.
Local Models Democratize AI Access
- Local LLMs appeal to people worried about privacy and centralized control by big AI companies.
- Advances have made useful models runnable on laptops and even phones, lowering the barrier to entry.
Hardware Expectations Keep Shrinking
- Model compression and speedups have repeatedly made laptops capable of running useful LLMs.
- Early assumptions that only expensive GPU racks could run good models keep being proven wrong.