Try them anyway. Tell your employer about all the principles of freedoms that free, self hosted AI enable. It does not have to dwarf other costs.
Do not worry about vendor lock-in. Standing against big corporations was never easier in this century.
Do it. You know you can.
I’m self employed, which means there is less than zero chance I could rely on self-hosted AI. $200/mo for virtually unlimited use, or $10k for a machine that will be less capable and slower?
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