# Use cases for AI and local knowledge bases Here are some use cases for which combining AI and local knowledge bases is valuable, including examples from my own usage & practice. --- So, first of all, I'm both [[Artificial Intelligence (AI)]] and [[Obsidian]] pilled. So I'm biased. ![](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fI4QBCVT3c) Obsidian follows the [[File over app principle|File over app]] principle (shared by [[Steph Ango]]). Basically, it's just an app that manipulates local files on your computer. And for AI, that means that there's no API to call, no authentication required, no [[Model Context Protocol (MCP)]] server needed, no nothing. Just straight filesystem access. That's awesome because it means that whatever you put in there is easy for AI to consume. And it goes both ways; AI can help you enrich the content. Some examples from my own usage: - I have notes about my goals/plans/projects/tasks, so I can ask AI to help me strategize, prioritize, summarize and whatnot - I have notes about my products (sales copy, sales numbers, etc), so I can ask AI to help me prepare ads, etc - I have notes about my ideas, so I can ask AI to help me prepare content, mixing various ideas together, helping me publish new content I have notes about my writing style, my content strategy, my target audience, etc. So I can have AI write more like ME. I have a journal (cfr [[Interstitial Journaling]]) with what I've achieved, plan to do next, etc, so I can use all that with AI to help me prepare newsletters that share status updates. And the list goes on and on and on. The best part is that you don't even need to write the notes about your writing style; you can have it read some of your blog posts and write the notes for you. I did just that to create v1 of my AI Ghostwriter assistant (cfr [[AI Ghostwriter Guide]]); and that's one more thing that sits in my knowledge base. Basically the way I see it is: my knowledge base is my operations center, my [[Fourth place]]: the place where I think, meet with myself, write, plan, track, etc. And when you combine that special place with AI, you have the perfect source of valuable context for AI to use and leverage, instead of starting dumb chats over and over, or rely on unreliable/pseudo-random memory systems included in ChatGPT and the like. In my knowledge base, I've also got all my newsletters, my articles, my social media posts, etc. ## What I'm using Nowadays, I'm mostly using [[Obsidian]] with [[Claude Code]] (I'm on the Max plan), but also Claude Cowork, a few Obsidian plugins I've built to create stuff based on the prompts I store in the knowledge base too, and I'm also starting to use the Terminal plugin to have Claude Code right in Obsidian. I let go of most other AI plugins; don't need any of those. ## What if you're wary about privacy if you're wary over privacy (which I understand), you can also use something like [[Ollama]] or [[LM Studio]], and run a local [[Large Language Models (LLMs)|Large Language Model (LLM)]], then point it to your knowledge base. In that case, everything stays local. But honestly, frontier models are different beasts right now. The 120B open source model from [[OpenAI]] (GPT-OSS-120B) is quite good, but it's still far behind frontier models. Same for most other ones you might be able to run locally. For me, privacy concerns are honestly secondary. Google already knows so much, and the value I get out of AI makes it worth it. I published a video about this topic a while ago: ![](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=af6DrWJ4Ek0) ## Where can I learn more about all this? You've come to the right place. I mostly focus on Knowledge Management, Obsidian and AI. If you want to learn more about [[Obsidian]] and [[Personal Knowledge Management (PKM)]], then check out my [website](https://dsebastien.net) and my [newsletter](https://dsebastien.net/newsletter). There's a ton of information in there. I also publish tons of notes for free on my [notes website](https://notes.dsebastien.net). 've also created a course about this called [[Knowledge Management for Beginners]] (don't let the name mislead you; it also discusses various AI tools and integrations). Last but not least, I have a [YouTube channel](https://youtube.com/@dsebastien). Here's a free 2.5h Obsidian workshop: ![](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOy4dTLBHBQ) And if [[Personal Knowledge Management (PKM)]] is new for you, then check that one out: ![](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYqn9651pvA) ## Related - [[Obsidian]] - [[Benefits of Obsidian]] - [[Claude Code]] - [[Why Obsidian is All You Need - From Simple Notes to Complete Productivity (Article)]] - [[File over app principle]] - [[OpenClaw]] - [[LM Studio]] - [[Ollama]] - [[Fourth place]] - [[AI Ghostwriter Guide]] - [[Personal Knowledge Management (PKM)]] - [[Writing is thinking]] - [[Knowledge Management for Beginners]] - [[How I Use AI With My Obsidian Vault Every Day - 16 Practical Use Cases (Article)]]