Thanks to the latest updates in artificial intelligence, we can now make our own local GPT installations and launch our own ChatGPT, design personal avatars and much more faster and easier than before – a step in the right direction?
Whether the progress in artificial intelligence and the easier accessibility of technologies such as GPT is a step in the right direction depends on several factors and can be judged differently.
Nevertheless, it is amazing how in just a few years we have gone from slow ChatBots to highly complex solutions like gpt4all.io or heygen.com. Why am I mentioning these 2 solutions? On the one hand, because they have lowered the entry threshold enormously and on the other hand, because they are very cheap to use (if you want to know more about them, please comment, thanks).
With the emergence of open source platforms and an ever-growing community willing to share knowledge and resources, we now have access to tools and resources that were previously reserved for only a few.
Open source solutions bring transparency and community to the AI development process. This allows us to look at AI technologies critically and adapt them to our individual needs and ethical ideas. When technologies like ChatGPT are shut down or become unavailable for other reasons, open source provides a bridge to bridge the gap and ensure the technology remains in people’s hands.
Solutions like gpt4all.io and heygen.com are examples of how AI is being democratized and made more accessible. Their platforms enable even those without deep technical expertise to reap the benefits of AI. At the same time, they place a focus on usability and accessibility – two key aspects that are often overlooked when it comes to advanced technologies.
Advantages:
- Democratize access: With simpler and local installations, more people can benefit from AI technologies without relying on centralized services.
- Innovation: A broader range of developers and users can lead to new and unexpected applications of AI.
- Data protection: On-premises installations can be more privacy-friendly because they allow users to use AI without constant data transfer to cloud services.
- Adaptability: The ability to design personal avatars and applications allows users to better tailor the AI to their specific needs.
Disadvantages:
- Potential for misuse: Facilitating access may also increase the risk of AI being used for malicious purposes.
- Quality control: It can be difficult to verify the quality and safety of locally developed AI applications.
- Knowledge and resource gaps: Although accessibility is increasing, differences in the availability of technical knowledge and resources may still exist, which can lead to unequal use.
- Ethics and morality: The potential for “deepfakes” or other manipulative uses could increase with broader access to technology.
Overall, developments in the AI industry are exciting and promising. However, the opportunities and risks must be carefully weighed. It is important that education, ethical guidelines and regulations keep pace with technological advances to ensure that AI is used for the benefit of society. But then, and not only then, but especially then, we can work more and more with AI and achieve more.
A step towards decentralized AI and stronger data protection: local, cross-platform AI
The software can be installed on various operating systems including Windows, macOS and Linux. The basic installation of GPT4All only requires around 170MB. Nevertheless, users should prepare for the fact that they will need significantly more storage space for the later language models. A prominent example is the AI model Snoozy, which alone requires around 8 GB of storage space.
These models are designed to require only four to eight gigabytes of memory and can run in an environment with four to 16 GB of RAM. This enables a full Large Language Model (LLM) to run on an edge device without the need for a GPU or external cloud support.
Quality and performance
Although GPT4All uses the open source AI model GPT4All-J, the quality of the results remains behind ChatGPT. However, if the API key to GPT-3 or GPT-4 is used, the results are better. Nevertheless, when it comes to data protection, using GPT4All is recommended.
However, some users have found that GPT4All sometimes does not process inputs or misinterprets them. In addition, GPT4All tends to ramble more than ChatGPT and the answers are in most cases in English – even if you ask in German. If used intensively, the software can also cause high CPU utilization – this means that a simple laptop is often no longer sufficient.
OpenSource for the win?
Despite the disadvantages mentioned, GPT4All can be seen as a significant step towards local and secure AI models. It is expected that future updates will improve the performance and efficiency of the bot. Another advantage of GPT4All is its open source nature, which enables rapid community-based development.
The fact that such a tool exists and the quality of the models is constantly improving shows the potential and competitiveness of open source projects compared to big tech giants. With continuous development and focus on privacy and user freedom, GPT4All could play a revolutionary role in the AI world.
