Why Google, Meta and Others Give Away Powerful AI for Free
Free AI runs on your own laptop — so who is actually paying for it?
Deep Dive
A beginner who is new to playing around with local AI said they have a ton to learn, and asked why "they" — questioning who "they" even is — are releasing AI models for free. They wondered whether those releasing them don't want people to pay to use them, and why free models are released at all.
Key Points
- Free AI models are the bait; companies make money on cloud servers, business plans and support
- Meta's Llama models have been downloaded hundreds of millions of times, making them a de facto standard
- Running AI locally needs a powerful computer and setup skills, and results are usually weaker than paid chatbots
Why It Matters
You can run a capable AI assistant for free, but expect setup work and weaker answers than paid services.