I don’t think there’s anything different between what you’re suggesting and a homelab. Most people do not have a homelab and are happy to offload services like photo storage or security to remote providers.

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sbarre 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I think that attitude is (very) slowly changing though and might not be the default forever.

My elderly parents have asked me about "local backups" of their cloud stuff, their Facebook history etc..

If they're thinking about the risks/tradeoffs of being in the cloud..

I think people use the cloud because there's no better/easier option today.

But at some point there might be. A home appliance (which may be similar to a homelab under the hood but the user experience is where things change) that provides a bunch of automation and home services could be quite attractive if it got to a point of being very turnkey for the average family.

Just like a TV or a gaming console is today.

	▲	beoberha 5 hours ago \| parent [-]
		There’s no better option today because it’s impossible to make it a better experience. That machine at home will need upgrades, it could fail, it costs thousands, it sucks lots of power. There is no mass market appeal.

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psyclobe 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I'm thinking 'everyone needs an air conditioner', kinda need. Instead of 'some nerds run servers'. And this 'ac' is your 'ai'.

Maybe even subsidized by the government. This will be a fundamental need.

	▲	dminik 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Hard to make an AC 500km away cool down my home. An AI doesn't really need to be in my flat. Not that I have the space for a server rack anyways.

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nateb2022 5 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Strongly agree. Plus, for all but very specific usecases, most people will spend less money by paying for cloud services, with "most" here referring to the general population.

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j45 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Home labs feel wholly different and requires custom setup and maintenance.

A home appliance like a toaster would be in the case of an AI server are ready to go appliance that’s preloaded and confined and connect to everything in your home and help you manage it likely by just voice chat or some amount of interface.

	▲	beoberha 5 hours ago \| parent [-]
		What you’re describing is more likely to manifest as a proprietary product from someone like Samsung or Ring (likely both!) than an open standard AI server that integrates with everything in your home automatically. This is exactly like what we have today with security systems and smart appliances. You have managed services and you have Home Assistant in your homelab.