Your AI Is Spying on You and You're Paying for It

Mikul Saravanan is the 20-year-old founder & CEO of Wagoo.ai and an Egleston Scholar at Columbia University. He’s building a completely offline, privacy-first AI assistant, challenging the core business models of the industry’s biggest players.In this urgent episode of ChaiNet, we sit down with Mikul to expose the hidden cost of “free” AI tools. We dive into the surveillance economy, how your data is used the moment you hit enter, and explore the practical world of AI that doesn’t require an internet connection.🔍 What You’ll Learn:* The hidden data pipeline: What truly happens to your confidential company data after you paste it into a cloud-based AI.* Unreported privacy disasters: Real-world incidents beyond the Samsung leak that never made headlines.* The mechanics of offline AI: How to run powerful AI models entirely on your device.* The business of surveillance: The economic rationale behind “free” AI tiers and why privacy-first tools are critical.* A founder’s journey: Building a company focused on privacy while competing with tech giants and their venture-backed budgets. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chainet.substack.com