{"id":521039,"date":"2026-06-06T10:51:34","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T17:51:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/?p=521039"},"modified":"2026-06-10T11:07:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T18:07:17","slug":"beyond-the-chatbot-a-look-at-my-current-ai-lab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/beyond-the-chatbot-a-look-at-my-current-ai-lab\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond the Chatbot: A Look at My Current AI Lab"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading519190_b33a00-c9, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading519190_b33a00-c9[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading519190_b33a00-c9\"]{font-size:var(--global-kb-font-size-sm, 0.9rem);font-style:normal;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading519190_b33a00-c9 mark.kt-highlight, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading519190_b33a00-c9[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading519190_b33a00-c9\"] mark.kt-highlight{font-style:normal;color:#f76a0c;-webkit-box-decoration-break:clone;box-decoration-break:clone;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading519190_b33a00-c9 img.kb-inline-image, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading519190_b33a00-c9[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading519190_b33a00-c9\"] img.kb-inline-image{width:150px;vertical-align:baseline;}<\/style>\n<p class=\"kt-adv-heading519190_b33a00-c9 wp-block-kadence-advancedheading\" data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading519190_b33a00-c9\"><strong>Disclaimer:<\/strong> <strong>I create this content entirely on my own time, and the views expressed here are mine alone (not my employer&#8217;s)<\/strong>. Because I love leveraging new tech, I use AI tools like Gemini, NotebookLM, Claude, Perplexity and others as a &#8220;digital team&#8221; to help research and polish these articles so I can share the best possible insights with you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns has-theme-palette-7-background-color has-background is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-5dc627e1 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:80%\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Part of: <strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/series-ai-learnings\/\">AI Learning Series Here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kadence-column395113_97b87a-23 > .kt-inside-inner-col,.kadence-column395113_97b87a-23 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;}.kadence-column395113_97b87a-23 > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column395113_97b87a-23 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}.kadence-column395113_97b87a-23 > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kadence-column395113_97b87a-23 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column395113_97b87a-23{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column395113_97b87a-23 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.kadence-column395113_97b87a-23 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column395113_97b87a-23\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\"><style>.kadence-column510545_44b637-b5 > .kt-inside-inner-col{padding-top:var(--global-kb-spacing-xs, 1rem);padding-bottom:var(--global-kb-spacing-xs, 1rem);}.kadence-column510545_44b637-b5 > .kt-inside-inner-col,.kadence-column510545_44b637-b5 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;}.kadence-column510545_44b637-b5 > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column510545_44b637-b5 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}.kadence-column510545_44b637-b5 > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kadence-column510545_44b637-b5 > .kt-inside-inner-col{background-color:var(--global-palette7, #EDF2F7);}.kadence-column510545_44b637-b5:hover > .kt-inside-inner-col{background-color:var(--global-palette8, #F7FAFC);background-image:none;}.kadence-column510545_44b637-b5 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column510545_44b637-b5{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column510545_44b637-b5 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.kadence-column510545_44b637-b5 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column510545_44b637-b5\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\"><style>.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading510545_f7c5f8-ed, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading510545_f7c5f8-ed[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading510545_f7c5f8-ed\"]{text-align:center;font-size:var(--global-kb-font-size-md, 1.25rem);font-style:normal;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading510545_f7c5f8-ed mark.kt-highlight, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading510545_f7c5f8-ed[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading510545_f7c5f8-ed\"] mark.kt-highlight{font-style:normal;color:#f76a0c;-webkit-box-decoration-break:clone;box-decoration-break:clone;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading510545_f7c5f8-ed img.kb-inline-image, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading510545_f7c5f8-ed[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading510545_f7c5f8-ed\"] img.kb-inline-image{width:150px;vertical-align:baseline;}<\/style>\n<p class=\"kt-adv-heading510545_f7c5f8-ed wp-block-kadence-advancedheading\" data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading510545_f7c5f8-ed\">Quick Links:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/resources-for-learning-ai\/\">Resources for Learning AI<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/keeping-up-with-ai\/\">Keep up with AI<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/list-of-ai-tools\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"402818\">List of AI Tools<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/local-ai-series\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"519365\">Local AI<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/tag\/ai-agents\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"941\">AI Agents<\/a> |  <a href=\"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/work-beyond-tomorrow-series\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"365001\">Future of Work<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<style>.kb-row-layout-id395113_d73e95-0d > .kt-row-column-wrap{align-content:start;}:where(.kb-row-layout-id395113_d73e95-0d > .kt-row-column-wrap) > .wp-block-kadence-column{justify-content:start;}.kb-row-layout-id395113_d73e95-0d > .kt-row-column-wrap{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-md, 2rem);row-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-none, 0rem );padding-top:var(--global-kb-spacing-xxs, 0.5rem);padding-bottom:var(--global-kb-spacing-xxs, 0.5rem);grid-template-columns:repeat(2, minmax(0, 1fr));}.kb-row-layout-id395113_d73e95-0d > .kt-row-layout-overlay{opacity:0.30;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kb-row-layout-id395113_d73e95-0d > .kt-row-column-wrap{grid-template-columns:repeat(2, minmax(0, 1fr));}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.kb-row-layout-id395113_d73e95-0d > .kt-row-column-wrap{grid-template-columns:minmax(0, 1fr);}}<\/style><div class=\"kb-row-layout-wrap kb-row-layout-id395113_d73e95-0d alignnone wp-block-kadence-rowlayout\"><div class=\"kt-row-column-wrap kt-has-2-columns kt-row-layout-equal kt-tab-layout-inherit kt-mobile-layout-row kt-row-valign-top\">\n<style>.kadence-column395113_df36f9-de > .kt-inside-inner-col,.kadence-column395113_df36f9-de > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;}.kadence-column395113_df36f9-de > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column395113_df36f9-de > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}.kadence-column395113_df36f9-de > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kadence-column395113_df36f9-de > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column395113_df36f9-de{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column395113_df36f9-de > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.kadence-column395113_df36f9-de > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column395113_df36f9-de\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\"><style>.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading395113_b3212c-b9, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading395113_b3212c-b9[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading395113_b3212c-b9\"]{text-align:center;font-size:var(--global-kb-font-size-sm, 0.9rem);line-height:60px;font-style:normal;background-color:#f5a511;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading395113_b3212c-b9 mark.kt-highlight, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading395113_b3212c-b9[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading395113_b3212c-b9\"] mark.kt-highlight{font-style:normal;color:#f76a0c;-webkit-box-decoration-break:clone;box-decoration-break:clone;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading395113_b3212c-b9 img.kb-inline-image, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading395113_b3212c-b9[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading395113_b3212c-b9\"] img.kb-inline-image{width:150px;vertical-align:baseline;}<\/style>\n<p class=\"kt-adv-heading395113_b3212c-b9 wp-block-kadence-advancedheading\" data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading395113_b3212c-b9\">Subscribe to <a href=\"https:\/\/go.35s.be\/jtb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>JorgeTechBits  newsletter<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<style>.kadence-column395113_4b4b81-29 > .kt-inside-inner-col,.kadence-column395113_4b4b81-29 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{border-top-left-radius:0px;border-top-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-right-radius:0px;border-bottom-left-radius:0px;}.kadence-column395113_4b4b81-29 > .kt-inside-inner-col{column-gap:var(--global-kb-gap-sm, 1rem);}.kadence-column395113_4b4b81-29 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;}.kadence-column395113_4b4b81-29 > .kt-inside-inner-col > .aligncenter{width:100%;}.kadence-column395113_4b4b81-29 > .kt-inside-inner-col:before{opacity:0.3;}.kadence-column395113_4b4b81-29{position:relative;}@media all and (max-width: 1024px){.kadence-column395113_4b4b81-29 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}@media all and (max-width: 767px){.kadence-column395113_4b4b81-29 > .kt-inside-inner-col{flex-direction:column;justify-content:center;}}<\/style>\n<div class=\"wp-block-kadence-column kadence-column395113_4b4b81-29\"><div class=\"kt-inside-inner-col\"><\/div><\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><a href=\"htthttps:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/book-dont-just-chat-delegate\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/CoverBook-01-640x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-520234\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.6250142320391666;width:98px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/CoverBook-01-640x1024.jpg 640w, https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/CoverBook-01-188x300.jpg 188w, https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/CoverBook-01-768x1229.jpg 768w, https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/CoverBook-01-960x1536.jpg 960w, https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/CoverBook-01-1280x2048.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/CoverBook-01.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/book-series-ai-dont-just-chat\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"520242\">Check out the Book Series<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I get asked all the time:&nbsp;<em>&#8220;What are you actually using for your AI Lab?&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To answer that, I wanted to provide an update on how I\u2019m building, testing, and deploying. But first, a little background. I\u2019m a technology consultant and services principal, and I\u2019ve been developing custom software since I was 15. I\u2019ve been deep in the AI space for about three years now\u2014not as a researcher or an LLM creator, but as a practitioner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I was doing <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/tag\/local-ai\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"986\">local AI<\/a><\/strong> before it was a \u201ctalk track,\u201d and I\u2019ve been vocal about the fact that you do not need hundreds of thousands of dollars to leverage AI for your business. Although credit is given to OpenAI for bringing it to market, I\u2019ve spent a lot of time writing and speaking, trying to demystify the myth that &#8220;AI = ChatGPT.&#8221; (urgh!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chatbots are just one small interface to tap into this technology\u2014a point I explore in my book series,&nbsp;<em><a href=\"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/book-series-ai-dont-just-chat\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"520242\">Don&#8217;t Just Chat<\/a><\/em>. True AI utility isn&#8217;t just about the raw intelligence of an LLM; it\u2019s about context management, responsible routing, tool access, and the complex web of integrations that make AI practical in the real world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is an update to my last <a href=\"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/building-the-ultimate-private-ai-lab\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"519629\">Building the Ultimate Private AI Lab<\/a>  blog a few months back on this topic<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To do this right, you do not need what I have.  <\/p>\n\n\n<style>.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading521039_5d410f-99, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading521039_5d410f-99[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading521039_5d410f-99\"]{text-align:center;font-style:normal;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading521039_5d410f-99 mark.kt-highlight, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading521039_5d410f-99[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading521039_5d410f-99\"] mark.kt-highlight{font-style:normal;color:#f76a0c;-webkit-box-decoration-break:clone;box-decoration-break:clone;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading521039_5d410f-99 img.kb-inline-image, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading521039_5d410f-99[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading521039_5d410f-99\"] img.kb-inline-image{width:150px;vertical-align:baseline;}<\/style>\n<h4 class=\"kt-adv-heading521039_5d410f-99 wp-block-kadence-advancedheading has-theme-palette-7-background-color has-background\" data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading521039_5d410f-99\"><em>You only need ONE COMPUTER as long as it has enough memory and you have the choice to use local AI or use LLM service aggregator gateway to access the LLMs you need!<\/em> <\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here is my current setup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">My Philosophy: Hardware, OS, and Containers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Early on, I realized I didn&#8217;t need a massive, monolithic server build to create AI-enabled apps. Between open-source tools and pay-as-you-go LLM distribution, I can take advantage of any frontier model affordably. A 32GB RAM workstation can do A LOT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While I\u2019ve used Ubuntu for years because of my web hosting business, I\u2019ve historically been a Windows user. However, with the sunsetting of Windows 10 and the strict requirements of Windows 11, I\u2019ve been migrating many of my systems to Linux distributions, and I\u2019ve been incredibly impressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My preferred installation method is containerization (Docker and Podman). Because I\u2019m constantly testing and iterating, I need an environment where I can kill an experiment without affecting the rest of my workflow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can get a lot of AI with just an aggregator, model hosted locally and the right self-hosted tools.  While much of my experimentation happens on local hardware, I\u2019m also a big proponent of flexible access. When I need to bridge the gap between local power and remote availability, I often deploy self-hosted instances on a VPS or use <a href=\"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/building-the-ultimate-private-ai-lab\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"519629\">Tailscale<\/a> to securely expose my lab services to the outside world. This hybrid approach ensures that whether I\u2019m at my desk or on the move, my agents, tools, and custom environments are always reachable without compromising on security or control.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Self-improving<a href=\"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/from-code-assistant-to-autonomous-hustler\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"520860\"> Agentic AI <\/a>takes a lot of tokens and tokens are at a premium so having the ability to hosted and accessible is a plus!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">My Current Lab Inventory<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Device<\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Specs<\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Notes<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\"><strong>Ryzen AI PC<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, 128GB RAM, 1TB Disk<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">My primary &#8220;production&#8221; AI server. Converted from Win11 to Ubuntu. Runs the model server (using\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/unlocking-the-npu-fastflowlm\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"521022\">FastFlowLM<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0to maximize NPU usage) plus Docker containers for OpenWebUI, n8n, <a href=\"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/what-is-agent-zero\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/what-is-agent-zero\/\">Agent Zero,<\/a> and my own apps\/tools:   <a href=\"https:\/\/35sites.com\/applications\/api-key-tracker\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">API Key Tracker <\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/35sites.com\/applications\/unified-aichat-hub\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Unified AI Chat Hub<\/a> <\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\"><strong>Precision 5540<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">i7-9750H, 32GB RAM, 2TB Disk<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">My remote dev and test machine. Home to VS Code and Kilo Code (I&#8217;ve moved on from Cursor due to mounting limitations).<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\"><strong>Mac Mini M4<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">32GB RAM, 512GB Disk<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">MacOS 26 (Tahoe). Essential for cross-training, staging, and hosting models that fit into my unified hub.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\"><strong>Nimo<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 6850U, 32GB RAM<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">My mobile workstation. This is where I experiment with agentic AI\u2014Claude Cowork, OpenAI Cowork, and lately, Hermes Desktop.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\"><strong>Dell E6330<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">32GB RAM, 2TB Disk<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">My ProxMox server. Hosts my media and, most importantly, Portainer, which manages all my Docker instances.<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">DELL <strong>GB10<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">64GB RAM<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Dell Pro Max with NVidia&#8217;s GB10 chip  &#8212; Bought it early before the price hikes due to supply issues <a href=\"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/tag\/tech-supply-chain-crunch\/\" data-type=\"post_tag\" data-id=\"1058\">Tech Supply Chain Crunch<\/a>   &#8212; it is a dedicated server for a client\u2019s production environment (automating processes and agentic workflows).<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Power of Integration: OpenRouter<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">My go-to for accessing the raw power of LLMs is&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/openrouter.ai\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">OpenRouter.ai<\/a>. It serves as a unified gateway to a vast range of models. It\u2019s convenient for switching models, keeping billing in one place, and accessing open-source options without managing a dozen different provider integrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you\u2019re looking for alternatives to OpenRouter, here is how I categorize the landscape:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Direct Aggregators (e.g., Ofox):<\/strong>&nbsp;Best for avoiding credit fees and accessing specific regional models (like DeepSeek or Qwen).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Self-Hosted Proxies (e.g., LiteLLM):<\/strong>&nbsp;Gives you full control over infrastructure and security.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Enterprise Gateways (e.g., Portkey, TrueFoundry):<\/strong>&nbsp;Necessary for production-readiness, guardrails, role-based access control (RBAC), and VPC requirements.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Platform-Native (e.g., Cloudflare\/Vercel Gateways):<\/strong>&nbsp;Best if you are already locked into their respective ecosystems.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Inference &amp; Multimodal (e.g., Together AI, Fireworks, AI\/ML API):<\/strong>&nbsp;Best for speed, low-latency, or specific text\/image\/video model needs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Final Thoughts and My Advice to everyone that asks me:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\u2019ve learned a great deal throughout this journey, but one thing is crystal clear:&nbsp;<strong>What I knew last month is already becoming old news.<\/strong>&nbsp;This field is moving at an incredible speed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n<style>.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading521039_a3f317-89, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading521039_a3f317-89[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading521039_a3f317-89\"]{text-align:center;font-size:var(--global-kb-font-size-md, 1.25rem);font-style:normal;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading521039_a3f317-89 mark.kt-highlight, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading521039_a3f317-89[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading521039_a3f317-89\"] mark.kt-highlight{font-style:normal;color:#f76a0c;-webkit-box-decoration-break:clone;box-decoration-break:clone;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading521039_a3f317-89 img.kb-inline-image, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading521039_a3f317-89[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading521039_a3f317-89\"] img.kb-inline-image{width:150px;vertical-align:baseline;}<\/style>\n<p class=\"kt-adv-heading521039_a3f317-89 wp-block-kadence-advancedheading has-theme-palette-7-background-color has-background\" data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading521039_a3f317-89\"><strong>Stay informed, keep experimenting, and don&#8217;t just read about it\u2014build it for your own use cases. <br>It is the only way to truly learn this technology right now.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Let me know what you are doing! &#8212; follow me on LinkedIn,  subscribe to my email or send me a message via X or BlueSky<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading407818_afcbba-c7, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading407818_afcbba-c7[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading407818_afcbba-c7\"]{font-size:var(--global-kb-font-size-sm, 0.9rem);font-style:normal;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading407818_afcbba-c7 mark.kt-highlight, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading407818_afcbba-c7[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading407818_afcbba-c7\"] mark.kt-highlight{font-style:normal;color:#f76a0c;-webkit-box-decoration-break:clone;box-decoration-break:clone;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;}.wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading407818_afcbba-c7 img.kb-inline-image, .wp-block-kadence-advancedheading.kt-adv-heading407818_afcbba-c7[data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading407818_afcbba-c7\"] img.kb-inline-image{width:150px;vertical-align:baseline;}<\/style>\n<p class=\"kt-adv-heading407818_afcbba-c7 wp-block-kadence-advancedheading\" data-kb-block=\"kb-adv-heading407818_afcbba-c7\">Have questions, ideas to share, or just want to connect? I\u2019d love to hear from you! Check out my <a href=\"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/about\/\">About Page<\/a> to learn more about me or connect with me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I get asked all the time:&nbsp;&#8220;What are you actually using for your AI Lab?&#8221; To answer that, I wanted to provide an update on how I\u2019m building, testing, and deploying. But first, a little background. I\u2019m a technology consultant and services principal, and I\u2019ve been developing custom software since I was 15. I\u2019ve been deep&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":519682,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[681,441],"tags":[471,930,894,917,919,986],"class_list":["post-521039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-moderneuc2","category-tech-talk","tag-ai","tag-ai-series","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-containers","tag-docker","tag-local-ai"],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":681,"label":"ModernEUC"},{"value":441,"label":"Tech Talk"}],"post_tag":[{"value":471,"label":"AI"},{"value":930,"label":"AI Series"},{"value":894,"label":"artificial intelligence"},{"value":917,"label":"Containers"},{"value":919,"label":"Docker"},{"value":986,"label":"Local AI"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/FeaturedImage-BUildingMyPrivateAILab-1024x512-mod01.png",1024,512,false],"author_info":{"display_name":"Jorge Pereira","author_link":"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/author\/jorge\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":681,"name":"ModernEUC","slug":"moderneuc2","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":691,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":274,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":681,"category_count":274,"category_description":"","cat_name":"ModernEUC","category_nicename":"moderneuc2","category_parent":0},{"term_id":441,"name":"Tech Talk","slug":"tech-talk","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":451,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":727,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":441,"category_count":727,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Tech Talk","category_nicename":"tech-talk","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":471,"name":"AI","slug":"ai","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":481,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":182,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":930,"name":"AI Series","slug":"ai-series","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":940,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":190,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":894,"name":"artificial intelligence","slug":"artificial-intelligence","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":904,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":185,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":917,"name":"Containers","slug":"containers","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":927,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":919,"name":"Docker","slug":"docker","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":929,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":16,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":986,"name":"Local AI","slug":"local-ai","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":996,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":51,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=521039"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521039\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":521047,"href":"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/521039\/revisions\/521047"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/519682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=521039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=521039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jorgep.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=521039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}