Hardware Podcasts

535: The You in the Machine

Embedded.fm · 1 Oct 2026 · 1h 29m · Episode 535

What this episode covers

Adam Smith, a professor at UC Santa Cruz, discusses his BayLeaf AI counterplatform, an open-source infrastructure designed to provide local, autonomous AI tools without data harvesting. He explains the concept of 'transagency,' where humans and agents collaborate, using tools like OpenCode, OpenChamber, and OpenWebUI to manage context and automate tasks. Smith advocates for using small language models (SLMs) and context distillation to retain knowledge in plain text files like AGENTS.md, arguing that this approach offers privacy and portability compared to corporate cloud services.

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
OpenRouter, Deep Seek
Products
BayLeaf AI, Pocket AI, Pocket Pal
Chips
Gemma, GLM
Tools
OpenCode, OpenChamber, OpenWebUI

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