# The Verge explores local AI and finds an exciting, frustrating experience

- Published: 2026-10-11T11:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-11T15:27:50.865Z
- Section: AI in practice
- Topics: Agents, Productivity
- Page: https://aidailyjournal.com/en/n/2026/10/11/the-verge-explores-local-ai-and-finds-an-exciting-frustrating-experience/
- Sources: [The Verge](https://theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/1008484/learning-local-ai-hermes-qwen-model-mac-studio-testing-diary-progress)

## Summary

A Verge journalist has started experimenting with local AI because of concerns about sending personal data to cloud services. In tests on an M5 Ultra Mac Studio with 256GB of unified memory, the journalist installed Hermes Agent, an open-source app that works on macOS, Windows, and Linux, and selected the Qwen 3.8 Flash Next model, with 125 billion parameters and a size of about 105GB. The agent was also connected to a Telegram bot for phone control.

The first use was a daily briefing that checks email and the calendar and includes a weather report. It initially failed until the journalist discovered that macOS could not be asleep when the scheduled task ran. The experiment also included reorganizing a Steam library with more than 400 games. The experience, the account says, is promising but marked by too many options, difficult setup, and uncertainty about which tasks are genuinely useful.

## Why it matters (editorial interpretation)

The account suggests that running agents locally may address concerns about sending personal data to cloud services, but it also shifts the burden of setup, maintenance, and deciding which uses are genuinely valuable to the user. Practical limits, such as requiring the Mac to stay awake, affect the reliability of automated tasks.

_Summary written by AI Daily Journal in its own words, based on the sources above. For details, read the original articles._