Project Polaris & Foundry Local Workshop

Microsoft recently announced a push towards greater control of the AI stack, strategizing to unite its silicon, runtimes, models, and products while reducing dependence on OpenAI. We will explore the technologies behind it: 1. Project Polaris, Microsoft's in-house coding model (which is intended to replace GPT-4 Turbo in GitHub Copilot) 2. Foundry Local, a solution to run AI models on device. We will discuss their technical capabilities, developer benefits, and commercial rationale. This is a hands-on workshop. You will be running local AI models on your computer using Microsoft's Foundry Local. (Note: if you're familiar with Ollama, Foundry Local is an alternative which runs on Mac & Windows.) Format (15 min) Talk on Project Polaris (15 min) Intro to Foundry Local (60) min) Hands-on workshop on Foundry Local Please come prepared with: Laptop + charger Internet access or an ethernet network cable GitHub account Install Visual Studio Code Install Foundry Local