"Roll Your Own AI: Adventures in Self-Hosting" (MLOps Meetup May 2026)
Tonight we’ll be hearing from:
Rachel Willmer on "Roll Your Own AI: Adventures in Self-Hosting".
From Rachel:
What if you could run capable AI models on your own hardware, with complete control over your data?
I did exactly that. I built a working AI system from scratch using open-source models and local hardware. No cloud APIs, no subscription fees, no data leaving my network.
Why go to the effort? I didn't want my data in someone else's cloud, I didn't want to pay per token, and I wanted to know exactly what was running where.
TL/DR: security, privacy, cost
In this talk I'll show what I built, how I use it day-to-day, and how I keep it secure while accessing it remotely. I'll cover the practical steps so you can evaluate whether self-hosting makes sense for you.
I'll also share where I'm taking it next, including a question I'm exploring: could Scotland's surplus green energy create economic value by powering AI compute at the point of generation?
About me: I have spent 40+ years designing, building, and fixing Internet systems; in startups, enterprise, government, and open-source. Perpetually curious about the New New Thing.
I'm currently exploring Agentic AI, with a particular interest in self-hosted systems that can work entirely offline.
Specialisms:
New tech: where everything is so new no-one quite knows how it's going to work
Old legacy: where everything is so old no-one understands how it ever did work
We will be hosted again this evening by Skyscanner, who are also sponsoring 🍕and 🍻. Many thanks!
Plan for the evening:
18:00: doors open
18:00 → 19:00: chat / pizza
19:00 → 20:00: talks + q/a
20:00 → 20:30: tidy-up / head to nearby bar
20:30: event close