Marc Alier (Ludo)

Optimizing My Local LLM Setup for Batch Tasks

marc.alier@upc.edu (Marc Alier) — Mon, 11 May 2026 00:00:00 +0000

In one recent run I had local LLMs going for more than 28 hours, chewing through 437 markdown files. The model used was qwen3.5:122b, served via Ollama working two Mac Studios on a private LAN. The task was unglamorous: read a file, return a JSON with a two-sentence summary, the named persons mentioned, the topic tags, the key-ideas the file argues. Repeat. Aggregate across files. Write per-entry scaffolds.

'The Sputnik Moment' Conference by Marc Alier at the University of Lleida PhD Day

marc.alier@upc.edu (Marc Alier) — Fri, 01 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

The doctoral school of the University of Lleida has invited me to give a conference (keynote) at their PhD day on 6/3/2024. Here you will find the audio and video of the conference:

AI says the assignments were done by AI

marc.alier@upc.edu (Marc Alier) — Mon, 12 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

ChatGPT summarizes the article in The Guardian for me: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/13/software-student-cheated-combat-ai

Robert Topinka, professor at Birkbeck, University of London, explores the dilemma professors face with students using AI to write essays. After detecting an essay marked as “100% AI-generated”, Topinka finds himself in a difficult situation when an exceptionally brilliant student challenges this accusation. The case highlights the challenges of AI detectors, like Turnitin, which can confuse students’ legitimate use of technological support with cheating. Topinka argues for the need to adapt academic assessment to the AI era, proposing alternatives like presentations and podcasts to demonstrate students’ critical and original thinking, while avoiding unfair accusations and promoting educational equality.

AI says you did your homework with AI.

marc.alier@upc.edu (Marc Alier) — Mon, 12 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

ChatGPT gives me a summary of the article in The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/13/software-student-cheated-combat-ai

Robert Topinka, a lecturer at Birkbeck, University of London, explores the dilemma professors face with students’ use of AI to write essays. After flagging an essay as “100% AI-generated,” Topinka lands in a tough spot when an exceptionally bright student challenges the accusation. The case highlights the problems with AI detectors like Turnitin, which can mistake legitimate technological support used by students for cheating. Topinka argues we must adapt academic assessment to the AI era, proposing alternatives such as presentations and podcasts to demonstrate students’ critical and original thinking, avoiding unfair accusations and promoting equal educational opportunities.

Study on the Habits of UPC Doctoral Students in Data Management and Application Use

marc.alier@upc.edu (Marc Alier) — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

In this post, I present an important document prepared by the UPC Doctoral School. It is the study “Data and applications: analysis of habits in data management and application use among doctoral students at the UPC North Campus”, based on a survey and a focus group carried out during the months of June and July.

EdTech Timelines

marc.alier@upc.edu (Marc Alier) — Mon, 01 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

%%{init: { ’logLevel’: ‘debug’, ’theme’: ‘default’ , ’themeVariables’: { ‘cScale0’: ‘#FFD700’, ‘cScaleLabel0’: ‘#000000’, ‘cScale1’: ‘#228B22’, ‘cScaleLabel1’: ‘#FFFFFF’, ‘cScale2’: ‘#00008B’, ‘cScaleLabel2’: ‘#FFFFFF’, } } }%% timeline title Modern Education Timeline section XIX Century 1800s : Compulsory Education Laws : Schools and Classrooms reflect a factory-like structure : Goal to alphabetize the whole society : Numerical Grading introduced by William Farish : Standardized Testing emerges : Courses by mail section Early section XX Century Early 1900a : Modern School Movement begins : Dewey emphasizes experiential learning : Montessori promotes child individuality : Pressey Teaching Machine (1926) 1940s and 50s : Piaget introduces developmental stage theory : B.F. Skinner develops behaviorism : B.F. Skinner Bulilds GLIDER teaching machine : Radio Broadcasting of Lectures : IBM teaching software section Late XX Century 1960s : First applications of computers in education : Seymour Papert, LOGO Programming Language : Computer-Aided Instruction (CAI) : IBM 1500 Instructional System 1970s : PLATO Instructional System : Distance Universities (OU , UNED, … ) : VCRs : Microcomputers , BASIC : Using computers become a subject of study

ChatGPT in Practice: Strategies for Optimal Interactions

marc.alier@upc.edu (Marc Alier) — Fri, 01 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Table Of Contents
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Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT are a new family of technologies that offer a lot of potential but also come with their own set of challenges. We’re using these AI tools more and more for everything from simple questions to generating complex code. So, it’s important to ask: Do we really understand how to get the best out of them?

Embeddings, Context uses and Self Referencing in LLMS

marc.alier@upc.edu (Marc Alier) — Thu, 31 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Table Of Contents
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Generative AI models, especially Large Language Models (LLMs) like GPT and its successors, have become a pivotal force in the advancement of artificial intelligence. While these models have gained prominence for their capabilities in natural language processing (NLP)—including tasks such as sentiment analysis, machine translation, and content generation—their applications extend beyond the realm of NLP [11].

Direct CO2 Capture in the Ocean: A New Tool to Fight Climate Change

marc.alier@upc.edu (Marc Alier) — Wed, 16 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Oceans as tools for capturing carbon

Oceans are a massive carbon sponge, absorbing a quarter of global CO2 emissions. That makes them a powerful tool to fight climate change. A company called Equatic is testing a bold idea to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere: pull it directly out of the ocean. The company is piloting this idea with a barge in Los Angeles that removes 100 kg of CO2 from seawater every day.

Organizations linked to free software ask the EU to review the AI Act to protect free software

marc.alier@upc.edu (Marc Alier) — Wed, 02 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Organizations linked to free software such as Creative Commons, Github, Huggingface have made public a document in which they offer suggestions on how to improve the AI Act to protect and foster the development of free software.

An Enigma from the Civil War is preserved next to UPC’s North Campus

marc.alier@upc.edu (Marc Alier) — Tue, 01 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The Enigma machine, the cryptographic contraption that played a key role during the Second World War, is a powerful symbol of our technological past. Developed by Nazi Germany to encrypt its messages, this machine was considered inscrutable until the arrival of British mathematician Alan Turing, who managed to decipher its code in 1943.

Ai panic

marc.alier@upc.edu (Marc Alier) — Mon, 17 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Found that on the former Twitter and I thought is was on point.

Where to publish Research in Engineering Education

marc.alier@upc.edu (Marc Alier) — Thu, 01 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Engineering Education Journals

Do you pay for ChatGPT?

marc.alier@upc.edu (Marc Alier) — Fri, 19 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

After decades of using free online services, and seeing the consequences of being the product and not the customer (see Soshana Zuboff “The Age of Survailance Capitalism”, or the Netflix documentary “The social dilemma”.), I’m getting less stingy and I try to pay for services that are truly useful to me, especially for my work.

My text file translation script using the ChatGPT API. Installation guide

marc.alier@upc.edu (Marc Alier) — Wed, 17 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In this post I explain how to install and use a small Python script I wrote. This script connects to the OpenAI API to use GPT-3.5_turbo to translate files from one language to another, regardless of length. You need an OpenAI API key to use the program. This API has a cost, but it’s very low, around 1 euro cent per translation.

A decalogue of recommendations on the use of AI in the classroom.

marc.alier@upc.edu (Marc Alier) — Mon, 01 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Based on the courses I have designed and taught to over 300 university professors titled ‘ChatGPT, opportunity and challenge for teaching’, and at the request of the UPC Vice-Rectorate for University Policy, I have written this draft decalogue of recommendations. With additional contributions, this document has been presented to the community of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. This is my version with some additional revisions.

And AI Came to the Classroom

marc.alier@upc.edu (Marc Alier) — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Legend has it that the wise Anand (a name suggested by ChatGPT, whom I call Skippy ^2) helped King Devendra (a name also proposed by Skippy) solve a difficult problem. In gratitude Devendra offered Anand the payment he desired. Anand asked that the king give him a grain of rice for the first square of a chessboard and that he double the amount in each successive square. The king accepted, but after a good while the king’s mathematicians informed him that there was not enough wheat in the entire kingdom to pay what Anand asked for.

Simple multi-language document translator in Python. A quick project.

marc.alier@upc.edu (Marc Alier) — Sat, 08 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

[Note: this post has been translated with my own translator] [Note: using the API has costs; the cost of use depends on the size of the documents. As a rough guide during development, tests and various translations of 2-page documents I spent 0.0.3€ over 5 days]

Simple multi-language document translator in Python. A quick project.

marc.alier@upc.edu (Marc Alier) — Sat, 08 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

[Note: using OpenAI’s API has its costs. The cost of using the translator will depend on the size of the documents you translate. As a guideline, so far with development, tests, and translating a few documents I’ve spent €0.03. ]

Participation in a session on AI and teaching at UIC

marc.alier@upc.edu (Marc Alier) — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

On March 2, 2023, I took part in the session on AI chatbots in higher education organized by the Universitat Internacional de Catalunya UIC. At https://www.linkedin.com/events/sessi-sobrexatbotsd-intel-lig-n7034187811851235329/comments/ you can find the video of the event. Yours truly and his talk appear starting at 1h:25 minutes.

What ChatGPT Is and Isn't?

marc.alier@upc.edu (Marc Alier) — Fri, 24 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Contents
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What is ChatGPT ?
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ChatGTP is a web application based on GPT-3, specifically the GPT-3.5 “text-davinci-003” model developed by OpenAi. The ChatGPT model is optimized to work in conversational form, responding to inputs that users provide as a text “prompt”. ChatGPT is a type of Generative AI based on a Machine Learning Model . We can consider ChatGPT a weak AI (see Types of Artificial Intelligence].

Resources on the history of computing

marc.alier@upc.edu (Marc Alier) — Thu, 23 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

John Mc Carty lecture https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K13_sWm_gZw&t=23s

Videos from the course ChatGPT: Opportunity and Challenge for Teaching v.1

marc.alier@upc.edu (Marc Alier) — Thu, 23 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

If you’re an educator and you’re interested in generative AI and its applications in teaching, you’ll be glad to know you can now access the videos from the course “ChatGPT: Opportunity and Challenge for Teaching” on my YouTube channel. This course covers ChatGPT, a text-generating AI tool introduced at the end of 2022, and its implications for university teaching.

Podcast: AI Eats It All, Programar es una Mierda

marc.alier@upc.edu (Marc Alier) — Fri, 17 Feb 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Programar es una Mierda is a go-to podcast for talking about programming with love and humor. I think this is my third time on the show, and we always end up discussing interesting things. This time we talk about AI and programming.

The risk of sticking with Google Apps for universities like the UPC

marc.alier@upc.edu (Marc Alier) — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 00:00:00 +0000

I keep seeing more signs that Google will have to get its house in order to stay competitive. Like this one [https://archive.ph/7BYDG]. When that happens, many free or very cheap services will simply be discontinued. Let’s not forget that “Google graveyard” grows every day.

A conversation with Martin Dougiamas about ICT and Education

marc.alier@upc.edu (Marc Alier) — Mon, 17 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Martin Dougiamas is the creator of the Moodle open-source software project. I have collaborated with him extensively in the past. A few weeks ago, Martin was kind enough to come to visit me at LISA (Laboratori d’Inovació i Suport Audiovisual del ICE de la UPC) where we had a conversation for over an hour and a half about Education, Innovation, and many other things.

marc.alier@upc.edu (Marc Alier) — Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Course: ChatGPT challenge and oportunity for teaching

marc.alier@upc.edu (Marc Alier) — Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Table Of Contents
#

Future Shock
#

Slides

Marc Alier (Ludo)

Optimizing My Local LLM Setup for Batch Tasks

'The Sputnik Moment' Conference by Marc Alier at the University of Lleida PhD Day

AI says the assignments were done by AI

AI says you did your homework with AI.

Study on the Habits of UPC Doctoral Students in Data Management and Application Use

EdTech Timelines

ChatGPT in Practice: Strategies for Optimal Interactions

Table Of Contents #

Embeddings, Context uses and Self Referencing in LLMS

Table Of Contents #

Direct CO2 Capture in the Ocean: A New Tool to Fight Climate Change

Organizations linked to free software ask the EU to review the AI Act to protect free software

An Enigma from the Civil War is preserved next to UPC’s North Campus

Ai panic

Where to publish Research in Engineering Education

Do you pay for ChatGPT?

My text file translation script using the ChatGPT API. Installation guide

A decalogue of recommendations on the use of AI in the classroom.

And AI Came to the Classroom

Simple multi-language document translator in Python. A quick project.

Simple multi-language document translator in Python. A quick project.

Participation in a session on AI and teaching at UIC

What ChatGPT Is and Isn't?

Contents #

What is ChatGPT ? #

Resources on the history of computing

Videos from the course ChatGPT: Opportunity and Challenge for Teaching v.1

Podcast: AI Eats It All, Programar es una Mierda

The risk of sticking with Google Apps for universities like the UPC

A conversation with Martin Dougiamas about ICT and Education

Course: ChatGPT challenge and oportunity for teaching

Table Of Contents #

Future Shock #

Table Of Contents
#

Table Of Contents
#

Contents
#

What is ChatGPT ?
#

Table Of Contents
#

Future Shock
#