Are there other smart assistants that we can now get for cheap, that have usable and rootable hardware on them to run custom LLMs?
> ... have usable and rootable hardware on them to run custom LLMs
All the heavy-lifting is done on the server, hence the board replacement—no need to root. Install your own board with your own firmware which communicates with your own API/servers—where all heavy-lifting is done.
"smart assistants" are glorified iOT microphone/speaker combos which get all their magic from their connected microservices. A warrantless wiretap, if you will.