The author swaps ChatGPT Plus, Cursor and Midjourney for local AI on a 14″ MacBook Pro M5 Max. Two setups failed; a third ran locally by day nine and convinced him to re-subscribe.

Anthropic's AI tool, Claude, has gained significant traction among consumers, with paid subscriptions more than doubling this year. The growth coincides with a public feud with the Department of Defense and effective Super Bowl ads that positioned Claude as a safer alternative to competitors. Despite this success, Claude still trails behind ChatGPT in overall user numbers.