Local home automation, cloud AI: I want to be in control

Yesterday I got my hands on the air conditioning units.

The AC units, locally

The goal was to run them locally with Home Assistant. Four wires, a connector and a system I keep at home, without depending on the manufacturer’s service.

It’s something I care a lot about: owning my devices, under my control. If the manufacturer shuts down its service tomorrow, I can still turn on my air conditioner.

The compromise with AI

With artificial intelligence, for now I make a compromise and use remote models. The hardware needed to run the models I need at home is an expense that, for me, doesn’t make sense yet.

Where I’d like to get to

I imagine a future with personal agents running on a computer of our own, at home, the way Home Assistant does today. For now it’s just a hypothesis, but that’s the direction I’d like to go.

What really matters is having the option to choose.

How do you see it? Let’s talk about it in the comments on the video (it’s in Italian).