🧬 Build Your Own Private AI Partner: The Genealogy "Easy Road"

A guide for researchers who want the power of AI without the privacy risks of the cloud.

Privacy First: Your family records, photos, and sensitive data never leave your computer.
No Subscriptions: Once downloaded, your AI partner is free to use forever—no monthly fees.
Works Offline: You can research at a library or a remote cemetery without an internet connection.

You don't need to be a coder. Pick the "easy road" for your computer type:

For Beginners (Windows/Mac): LM Studio or Ollama. These are "click-and-run" apps with a clean chat window.
For Advanced Users (Linux): llama.cpp. This is a surgical, high-speed engine that can be customized for your specific hardware.

When looking for an AI partner, look for these "Genealogy Gold" labels:

The Sweet Spot: Look for "Q4_K_M" or "4-bit" versions. These are smart enough for complex research but small enough to run on a standard home laptop.
Vision (The Optical Nerve): If you want the AI to "see" documents, ensure you download a Multimodal model (like LLaVA) along with its mmproj file.
Languages: For German or Latin records, choose a Bilingual or Multilingual model.

Download: Go to ollama.com and install the version for your OS.
Pick a Brain: Open your terminal/command prompt and type: ollama pull llama3.
Start Chatting: Type ollama run llama3 and ask your first question.

You are the Conductor: AI is a tireless assistant, but you make the final call on every record.
Trust but Verify: AI can "hallucinate" (invent facts). Always cross-reference its findings with primary sources like FamilySearch or Ancestry.
Give Threads, Not Haystacks: Don't feed the AI a giant database. Give it one specific document or family story to analyze for better accuracy.

If you get stuck, get a "Consultant":

Use Free AI to Build Private AI: Use a free account (like Gemini or ChatGPT) as your project manager. Tell it your computer specs and ask: "Guide me through installing a local LLM step-by-step".
Pivoting: If one tool (like wget) is too slow, pivot to another (like aria2c).
Your machine is incapable: Time to buy something more capable. There are laptops equipped with Copilot and possibly with other AIs as well. I went the route of buying a new Gaming machine all for under $850 USD- not FREE. I know. :(

Compiled for the Genealogy & AI Presentation (January 27th). Build your tree on facts, not guesses—and your stories will last generations!