The duality of language models in the browser

This article discusses the author's bullish view on small language models (SLMs) running in web browsers, despite skepticism about AI hype. It contrasts SLMs with large language models (LLMs), emphasizing advantages such as lower energy costs, offline privacy, ethical sourcing, free usage, and open-source nature. The author argues that SLMs can handle many practical tasks without requiring expensive cloud infrastructure, using analogies like electric cars for daily commuting. Practical experience with browser APIs (Prompt, Summarizer, Rewriter) in Edge demonstrates that useful prototypes can be built for free. The article is a tech-focused analysis of AI trends and browser capabilities.