📦 Edge AI: fast and private… or just a new kind of lock-in?

Here’s the simple idea: instead of sending everything to giant cloud servers, more AI is running right on your stuff—your phone, laptop, car, even earbuds. That’s called “edge AI.” The promise is awesome: your device answers faster because it doesn’t have to talk to a faraway server, and your data can stay local so fewer people see it. Think instant photo edits, voice assistants that work offline, and text tools that don’t need the internet. Sounds like a win for speed and privacy.

But there’s a catch to watch for. Some companies ship special chips and software that only work inside their garden. Bootloaders stay locked (so you can’t install what you want), and the AI runtime (the thing that actually runs the model) can be closed, tuned only for their store and their partners. So yeah, the AI runs on your phone… but the rules still belong to someone else. Add in “telemetry” (quiet data sending), and you can end up with a device that learns a lot about you locally and still reports back. That’s not the privacy we were promised.

Here’s the question: is “edge AI” going to be freedom—fast, private, under your control—or a new walled garden where you pay for the hardware and they still call the shots?

What can you do? Aim for devices that let you breathe. 1) Pick hardware with unlockable bootloaders (or models known to be friendly to custom ROMs). That means you can install an OS that respects you. 2) Prefer open-source AI runtimes (like ONNX Runtime, GGML/llama.cpp-style engines, etc.) and models with clear licenses so you’re not stuck waiting for permission. 3) Block telemetry by default: turn off “usage analytics,” deny extra permissions, and use a firewall or private DNS to stop sneaky pings. 4) For anything truly sensitive (journal entries, health notes, private images), run inference fully offline—no network, no cloud. 5) Keep a “clean profile” device if you can: fewer apps, fewer trackers, just the tools you trust. 6) Learn the basics: how to export/import models, how to check size/quantization, and how to test that an app really works in airplane mode.

If you’re a student or dev, go further: contribute to open models and edge frameworks, write simple guides for classmates, and share reproducible setups (exact versions, settings, and a test prompt) so others can repeat your results. If a vendor won’t let you control your hardware, don’t reward that—choose someone who will. Edge AI should mean your device, your data, your rules. Make choices that push the ecosystem in that direction.

This pace is literally the death spiral. $1 trillion every 2 months = $6 trillion per year. Our budget is $6 trillion per year. That means our entire budget is deficit funded. (Roughly). nothing stops this train nostr:npub1a2cww4kn9wqte4ry70vyfwqyqvpswksna27rtxd8vty6c74era8sdcw83a

Some people know that Uptober has multiple iterations.

“Anomie describes a state of normlessness when society's rules, values, and expectations lose their power to guide behavior, leaving individuals feeling adrift or disconnected.”

One of the most triggering videos I have ever seen

“The White House Wrecking Ball

President Trump’s demolition of the East Wing has struck a nerve in Washington and beyond.”

Interesting. I wonder if there’s even the faintest chance someone in authority will actually do anything about it.