Practical AI

Chris on AI, autonomous swarming, home automation and Rust!

87 snips
Nov 26, 2025
Chris Benson, a robotics and autonomy expert, dives into groundbreaking topics like AI, drones, and home automation. He emphasizes how open-source software and small AI models are revolutionizing home automation on a budget. Chris also discusses the emerging field of swarming technology, outlining its potential applications and differences from conventional fleets. With a focus on local systems over cloud reliance, he highlights the exciting future of physical AI and community-driven projects, all while advocating for the Rust programming language.
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INSIGHT

Open Models Narrow The Frontier Gap

  • Open models are commoditizing frontier model advantages and narrowing the gap with proprietary leaders.
  • That shift pushes big companies toward offering specialized AI services rather than just raw models.
INSIGHT

Many Small Models Beat One Giant Model

  • The future is not one giant model but many smaller models and agents collaborating to solve tasks.
  • We're entering an agent era where models act on behalf of users in specialized, composable ways.
ADVICE

Start Building With Open Tools

  • Become a maker: combine open models from Hugging Face with open software to build practical AI without huge budgets.
  • You can prototype powerful systems as a student or hobbyist using free or cheap resources.
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