Where Chat AI Lives – free checklist (episode 23)

Why it matters

Many chat AIs run on big computers far away. Your phone sends your words there and shows the answer. Some small AI features run on the phone itself.

The 5 checks

0 of 5 done

Try airplane modeTurn on airplane mode. Ask the app something. If it can't answer, it probably needs the internet.Try: Does it say it can't connect?General good practice. Some small AI features work offline.
Picture the letterboxYour words travel to a faraway building, and the answer travels back.Try: Phone = letterbox. Internet = pipe.An analogy, not a wiring diagram.
Know the data centerA data center is a building with many computers that store and process large amounts of information.Try: Where is the thinking done: your phone or a data center?Definition: see Sources below.
Expect a mixSome small AI jobs run on the phone. Bigger jobs can be sent to bigger AI programs on faraway computers (the cloud).Try: Quick tasks may stay local. Hard ones may travel.Both setups are described in vendor docs (see sources).
Read the privacy pageThe app's own help or privacy page may say where your words are processed. Check it before you type private things.Try: Search the page for "processed" or "cloud".General good practice.

Tap a step when you have done it. Your ticks stay on this device.

Rule of thumb

no internet, no answer usually means the thinking is far away.

Sources: Google Data Centers FAQ (datacenters.google); Android Developers, Gemini Nano on-device AI; Apple Security Research, Private Cloud Compute. The airplane-mode test and the letterbox picture are our own illustration and general good practice; apps differ.

Episode 23: Where does your AI actually run?

Why it matters

The 5 checks

The AI Words Map

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