For most of the world, open-source AI is the only way forward
1–10 of 153 posts
Re: For most of the world, open-source AI is the only way forward
#2Agreed but I want to see how it plays out. Historically a good Windows computer cost $1000 and it was all it took to start programming. How much does it cost a computer with enough resources to run a good enough AI model for agentic workflows and a reasonable time to first token? Can "most of the world" afford buying one?
Re: For most of the world, open-source AI is the only way forward
#3Agreed but I want to see how it plays out. Historically a good Windows computer cost $1000 and it was all it took to start programming. How much does it cost a computer with enough resources to run a good enough AI model for agentic workflows and a reasonable time to first token? Can "most of the world" afford buying one?
Yes, between Moore's Law and more efficient model architectures, we just have to let time do its work.
Re: For most of the world, open-source AI is the only way forward
#4We don't need rinky-dink RTX models that budget VRAM.
We need large scale open weights models just as capable as what's at the frontier.
And we need the ability to rent compute and spin up the weights easily. One-click, easy enough for anyone. Easier than nerd tools like ComfyUI, Claw, and node graph garbage.
Freedom is owning very large scale weights. Anything less is subsistence.
Re: For most of the world, open-source AI is the only way forward
#5Agreed but I want to see how it plays out. Historically a good Windows computer cost $1000 and it was all it took to start programming. How much does it cost a computer with enough resources to run a good enough AI model for agentic workflows and a reasonable time to first token? Can "most of the world" afford buying one?
Hence why brute force needs to be replaced with examples such as neuromorphic methods. It could realistically could be combined with mesh networking as well to utilise the capabilities of all computers locally.
Re: For most of the world, open-source AI is the only way forward
#6There's a video of the entire session here:
https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k14/k14ej1ucqu?kalturaStartTim...
(if that link doesn't work, it starts about 12 minutes into the start)
Re: For most of the world, open-source AI is the only way forward
#7We don't need rinky-dink RTX models that budget VRAM. We need large scale open weights models just as capable as what's at the frontier. And we need the ability to rent compute and spin up the weights easily. One-click, easy enough for anyone. Easier than nerd tools like ComfyUI, Claw, and node graph garbage. Freedom is owning very large scale weights. Anything less is subsistence.
We need to improve the waster and energy usage and this method doesn't. Most are not reinventing the wheel, a shared AI repository, communicated between online local computers would save a lot of need for these large models.
Re: For most of the world, open-source AI is the only way forward
#8Agreed but I want to see how it plays out. Historically a good Windows computer cost $1000 and it was all it took to start programming. How much does it cost a computer with enough resources to run a good enough AI model for agentic workflows and a reasonable time to first token? Can "most of the world" afford buying one?
About $2k in 2026 dollars and falling.
Re: For most of the world, open-source AI is the only way forward
#9Agreed but I want to see how it plays out. Historically a good Windows computer cost $1000 and it was all it took to start programming. How much does it cost a computer with enough resources to run a good enough AI model for agentic workflows and a reasonable time to first token? Can "most of the world" afford buying one?
Roughly about Eur 3-4K right this minute I think? The graphics card, ram and storage are punishing. Under more normal circumstances (hopefully late 2027) it'd be 1500-2500 depending on what you think is realistically useful.
Possibly it's the same price range, allowing for inflation.
Re: For most of the world, open-source AI is the only way forward
#10Agreed but I want to see how it plays out. Historically a good Windows computer cost $1000 and it was all it took to start programming. How much does it cost a computer with enough resources to run a good enough AI model for agentic workflows and a reasonable time to first token? Can "most of the world" afford buying one?
Qwen 3.6 27B is quite good for agentic coding, and practical to run on consumer hardware. You need a system with either 32+ GB VRAM, or a unified memory system with 48+ GB VRAM and a decent integrated GPU. While not cheap, such a setup is still attainable for much of the world, and will eventually get cheaper over time. Open models hosted on non-American clouds also remain an option with a much lower barrier to entry, for cases where privacy is less critical.