Scrappy builds aren't "affordable" but are more so than running Nvidia + optimized builds. You could put together a machine for $5000 or less that competes with frontier models from less than a year ago, albeit a little slower.

And cards like the $1600 (sheesh) R9700 have actually gotten more capable through community efforts at optimization, since their launch.

I think if the bubble can ever deflate/pop, and GPUs and RAM back off a bit, we'll see the dam burst for local AI.

Right now it's only accessible to people who can justify the costs.