As luck would have it, you can just pay the provider and use their service. Others may want to run locally for privacy reasons or just for the fun of it. I think at-home AI is incredibly awesome and I applaud the enthusiasts pushing it forward. Just because that's where it's at today doesn't mean it's the best we can do.

Plus, you know, this thread was about running AI on "lame consumer hardware". There are more power efficient options available.

I use only providers because I don't have the hardware, but if, and that's a big if, the only moat left for humans is our ability to steer and make bigger picture decisions with our personality, I think it makes sense not to want to send all that conversation data to a 3rd party.