LLM unplugged: Understand AI, run it yourself and use it with your own knowledge.
Instead of simply using AI through a cloud service, we take a look at what is happening behind the scenes – and build our own AI assistant. In this hands-on workshop of around two hours, you will install a local AI without any programming knowledge, give it your own knowledge and build a personal assistant that runs directly on your laptop. Your data remains entirely under your control.
Why digital sovereignty matters when it comes to AI
Many organisations want to use AI – but not at any price. Data protection, professional confidentiality, compliance requirements or dependence on individual providers: for many, the biggest hurdle to using AI is not the technology itself, but the question of who retains control over the data and the technology.
Digital sovereignty means more than data protection. When you run AI locally, you decide where it runs, how it is used and what happens to your own data. This turns a black box into a technology you can understand, control and use yourself.
Typical use cases across different sectors
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
Search policies & documents
Internal knowledge assistants for municipalities, cantons and public authorities – without sending citizens’ data to third-party data centres.
LAW & TRUST SERVICES
AI despite professional confidentiality
Sensitive client data remains in-house while a local AI helps with searching and summarising.
BUSINESSES & ORGANISATIONS
Search internal knowledge
From product owner assistance to document analysis: the same toolkit can work for almost any team.
What you will take away from the evening
✓ Install and launch a local AI
✓ Understand how LLMs and local AI work
✓ Integrate your own documents
✓ Build your own assistant
✓ Assess the opportunities & limitations of local AI
✓ Apply what you have learned to your own projects
Programme
17:00 – Welcome A brief introduction to the MINT’special format and the programme for the evening.
17:05 – LLM unplugged with Danilo Biella
What is actually behind an LLM? Danilo will show how local AI works, what alternatives exist to major cloud platforms and what needs to be considered regarding data protection, confidentiality and data sovereignty. We will also explore the opportunities and limitations of local AI.
17:30 – Hands-on workshop Installation, trying out your first models and building your own assistant.
18:30 – 20:00 Apéro & networking Continue experimenting, ask questions and exchange ideas.
Who is it for?
For anyone who wants to understand and try out local AI for themselves – whether you work in IT, public administration, law, trust services, communications, project management or another professional field. No programming skills or prior knowledge are required.
What you need
Laptop: A reasonably powerful laptop with approximately 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of free storage. The workshop is suitable for Windows, macOS and Linux. Depending on your hardware and operating system, different local AI solutions may be used. Smartphone: Optional, ideally no more than 3–4 years old.
Danilo Biella
IT Master, QA Pioneer, AI Whisperer, Demystifier
An experienced IT and quality professional with expertise in quality assurance, agile transformation and technology consulting. He makes AI technologies understandable, tangible and practical to use.
About this event
Glue is hosting this MINT’special as a neutral professional event – not as a product presentation. The workshop does not focus on a specific tool. Depending on your hardware and operating system, you will try out different local AI solutions, such as Apertus or Gemma. The key is not the individual model, but understanding how local AI works and what can be practically achieved with it.
You do not need any programming skills – just three hours of your time.
By the end, you will have built your own AI assistant – running locally on your device and using your own knowledge.
Event Information: MINT’special “Build Your Own AI Assistant – Local & Private”
📅 Tuesday, 13 October 2026 📍 Glue AG, Schwarztorstrasse 31, 3007 Bern, Switzerland 🕓 Doors open: 4:45 p.m. | Start: 5:00 p.m. | Workshop: from 5:30 p.m. | Apéro & Networking: from 6:30 p.m. 👥 Limited to 24 participants