I have avoided AI (LLMS) because it didn’t seem nearly useful enough to warrant supporting these tech assholes. Is there anyway to use it locally on a normal device (16 Gb ram, 8 year old Geforce graphics, etc?). Can I just slow it down and get it to work locally?


Yeah, I think you’ve nailed it.
There’s no stopping the Holocene extinction. Our only hope as a species is to try to survive it and to position ourselves so that we end up in the best-possible position on the other side. I see continued, rapid technological progress (including AI development) as the most realistic means to accomplishing these ends.
I don’t think Ishmael was wrong, I just think the viewpoint isn’t realistically actionable.