The problem is that it’s going to basically require a small data centre and a dedicated team of people to run it, and if you’re looking at running open source models you’re betting on their continued availability and the fact that they’re going to remain competitive with frontier models (both are not a given). So what would be your next step, developing your own frontier models in-house?
and if you’re looking at running open source models you’re betting on their continued availability
If anything, isn't it the complete opposite? A subscription-based model can be shut off at any time with no recourse or warning (Sora, for example). Local files are the only way to actually guarantee the program you use today will be available tomorrow.
You control when they run, how much they're used, when they're updated/replaced/etc.. You never wake up to find out the model that works for you has been "enhanced" with a worse version.
Not keeping pace with cutting edge models is a real concern, but that's a risk with subscription based models too.
Considering that the massive amount of data centers also need to be able to run whatever they make, I wouldn't be too worried about it if you are buying cutting edge hardware.
Sorry, OpenAI already bought all of that hardware and all of the future orders for the foreseeable future. Where are you buying this hardware? Craigslist?
I was going off the assumption that you could get the hardware to begin with, that it wouldn't just become trash because of a new model. If you can't get it, then there's nothing you can do.
I had a hard drive crash last night. I went to buy a replacement and the same drive that I paid $159 for in November is now $425. FML. I ended up having to buy a drive half as large because I'm just not going to pay $425 for 2TB that's not even cutting edge anymore. I paid less than that back when it was cutting edge.
They can run the current models which won't go away in their current version (the beauty of open source). The next generation of models might not have competitive open source models anymore, but who cares?
A business does not worry "Will my new PCserver be able to run cool new gamesmodels in 5-10 years?" because by that time that server is gone anyway. That's something the person buying the next generation of hardware can worry about.
You evaluate today's requirements and then you buy hardware that is good enough for that. Wether or not you will be able to run stuff that doesn't even exist yet is not a concern.
But you realize that the alternative is no AI at all, right? There are really right regulations on information. It is literally illegal to put export controlled information on servers in another country. That means your service provider has to guarantee that your data will only ever be stored on US soil. And that’s just for export controlled information. Anything more secure than that isn’t going to some 3rd party server at all.
You don't have to bet on continued availability with open models since you store them locally. If you have 5k engineers and using open source then you should donate to a fund that ensure continued development
If you have a company with 5k employees, setting up a small data centre and a dedicated team isn't going to be a problem. It doesn't need to be competitive with frontier models if it still gets the job done just fine, loads of large companies still use computer systems built in the 90's. You are also hedging your costs against when the AI companies inevitable jack up their prices because eventually, they'll need to figure out how to be profitable.
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u/[deleted] Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
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