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Are you putting your business at risk by relying on big AI companies? In this episode of the Tool Use podcast, we dive deep into Sovereign AI with Max McCrea, founder of Greyhaven. We explore how businesses can maintain control of their private data while still benefiting from AI. Max breaks down the importance of self-hosting and building architectures that abstract away the model provider so you can easily swap them out. We also discuss practical AI architecture decisions, the dangers of un-sandboxed AI agents, and how to set up software-defined sandbox environments to reduce the attack surface. Whether you are curious about running open source models or replacing proprietary tools, this episode provides a guide to taking back control of your systems.

Guest Links:

https://greyhaven.co

https://maxmccrea.com

https://github.com/GreyhavenHQ

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https://x.com/ToolUsePodcast

https://x.com/MikeBirdTech

00:00:00 - Intro

00:12:17 - AI Context Management & Personal Data Indexing

00:20:40 - Open Source Replacements vs Proprietary SaaS Tools

00:29:14 - Corporate AI Data Harvesting & Vendor Lock-in

00:49:18 - LLM Orchestration & AI System Architecture

00:53:24 - Best Open Source AI Models for Self-Hosting

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Tool Use is a weekly conversation with the top AI experts.

Join the Tool Use Discord: https://discord.gg/PnEGyXpjaX

Vector databases can be an important component for building reliable AI agents and scalable semantic search applications. In this episode, Arjun Patel from Pinecone breaks down how to optimize your RAG pipeline, choose the right embedding models (sparse vs. dense), and implement effective chunking strategies for better data retrieval. We also explore the new Pinecone plugin for Claude Code, demonstrating how to build a recommendation system and chat with your documents using Pinecone Assistant without writing complex code.

https://www.pinecone.io/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/arjunkirtipatel/

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https://x.com/MikeBirdTech

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:11 - What Vector Databases Unlock

00:04:40 - Optimal Chunking Strategies for RAG

00:09:07 - How Embedding Models Work

00:17:25 - Improving Search with Re-ranking

00:26:52 - SQL vs Vector Database Architecture

00:35:48 - Claude Code & Pinecone Assistant Demo

Subscribe for more insights on AI tools, productivity, and vector databases.

Tool Use is a weekly conversation with the top AI experts.

Join the Tool Use Discord: https://discord.gg/PnEGyXpjaX

Unlock the power of AI fine-tuning for image and video models with Greg Schoeninger, CEO of Oxen.ai. In this episode, we explore how to move beyond simple prompt engineering to training custom open-source models for as little as $1. Discover the technical strategies for building high-quality datasets, the trade-offs between LoRAs and full fine-tunes, and how to achieve consistent characters and styles in generative video.

We dive into real-world examples, including how to generate massive product catalogs for a fraction of the cost of enterprise APIs and the story behind the viral "Isometric NYC" project built with Claude Code. Greg breaks down the entire AI lifecycle—from data curation and labeling with Vision Language Models (VLMs) like Qwen and Gemini to deploying efficient, specialized models that outperform general-purpose giants. Whether you are looking to optimize GPU costs, automate video workflows, or build your own AI tools, this conversation provides the blueprint for scaling your AI capabilities.

Links from the episode:

Oxen AI: https://www.oxen.ai/

Fine Tuning Fridays: https://luma.com/oxen

Isometric NYC Project: https://cannoneyed.com/projects/isometric-nyc

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https://x.com/ToolUsePodcast

https://x.com/MikeBirdTech

https://x.com/gregschoeninger

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:47 - When to Switch from Prompt Engineering to Fine-Tuning

00:11:05 - How to Build a Dataset for AI Fine-Tuning

00:21:52 - LoRA vs. Full Fine-Tuning Explained

00:27:53 - Case Study: Fine-Tuned Qwen 3 VL vs. Google Gemini

00:36:33 - Case Study: Isometric NYC with Claude Code

Subscribe for more insights on AI tools, productivity, and fine-tuning.

Tool Use is a weekly conversation with the top AI experts.