What is an AI stack exactly?

Three layers: foundation model (LLM), orchestration (prompts/RAG), frontend/evals. Builds real apps, not toys.

Proprietary vs open source AI—which is cheaper?

Open source wins at scale (e.g., Llama 3: $2K/mo vs $10K GPT-4). Proprietary for quick prototypes.

Ollama for local LLM, Chroma for RAG, Streamlit UI. Full doc bot in under 100 lines—privacy guaranteed.

AI isn't magic—it's a stack you can build today. Here's the no-BS blueprint, from LLMs to RAG, proving why control trumps convenience.

theAIcatchup Apr 08, 2026 3 min read

Open source LLMs slash costs 5x at scale while matching proprietary performance. 𝕏
RAG cuts hallucinations to <5%; essential for knowledge apps. 𝕏
Build evals early—most AI fails silently without them. 𝕏

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Community-driven. Code-first.

#AI stack #LLMs #RAG #langchain #llm #open-source AI #open-source models

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Originally reported by Dev.to