I'm using it locally, with models my existing computer can handle. I think, but I'm not sure, that it's better for the environment than buying into some massive model hosted in a data centre. And I don't want to lose my skills so I still try to do as much as I can without calling on it.

[–] HoloPengin@lemmy.world 1 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

I will say that using a super efficient cloud model (deepseek for me, v4 flash is very cheap) is probably more efficient than using a local model in most cases, especially if you need strong capabilities. The question is whether your own grid or the provider's grid is more environmentally friendly (hint: china's energy mix is about 50% fossil fuels while the US's mix is around 75% fossil fuels overall)

Training is of course expensive still, but Chinese labs have all but caught up to US labs despite much lower compute resources being available to them.

[–] floofloof@lemmy.ca 1 points 3 days ago

That's a fair point. Where I am is about 28% fossil fuels I believe, so it's a slightly different calculation.

[–] foenkyfjutschah@programming.dev 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

did you generate your model locally?

[–] floofloof@lemmy.ca 1 points 3 days ago

No, and I do understand that training is the most energy-intensive part of the process. I don't know how exactly it divides up: how much of the work of massive data centres is training and how much is running people's queries on finished models.