Local-First AI Principles
What Is Local-First AI?
Local-first AI is an approach to building AI tools where generation runs on the user's device by default, without requiring cloud services, accounts, or constant connectivity.
These principles describe how AI tools should behave when privacy, autonomy, and trust matter.
The Principles
1. AI should work offline by default
AI creation should not require an internet connection. Offline capability is not a fallback. it is the baseline.
2. Prompts should stay on the user's device
Prompts often contain sensitive, personal, or proprietary information. They should not be uploaded unless the user explicitly chooses to share them.
3. Generation should not require accounts
Creating AI content should not depend on logins, identity, or user tracking. Accounts are a product choice, not a technical requirement.
4. Saving should be explicit, not automatic
Most AI outputs are temporary. Local-first AI generates first and saves only when the user decides the output is worth keeping.
5. The cloud should be optional, not mandatory
Cloud services may add value in some contexts, but they should never be required for basic creation.
6. Privacy should be guaranteed by architecture, not policy
True privacy comes from design choices. local execution, no phone-home behavior, and minimal data movement. not from promises in a privacy policy.
7. Costs should not scale with creativity
AI tools should not penalize experimentation. Local execution avoids usage-based pricing that discourages exploration.
8. AI tools should feel like instruments, not databases
Creative tools should be fast, responsive, and ephemeral. AI is closer to an instrument than a CRUD system.
9. Trust is built through constraints
Limiting data collection, network dependency, and background behavior builds more trust than adding features.
10. Control belongs to the user
Users should decide when data is saved, shared, synced, or exported. Local-first AI treats control as a default, not a setting.
Why These Principles Matter
As AI becomes more powerful, the cost of centralization grows:
- Privacy risk increases
- Compliance complexity increases
- Trust erodes
Local-first AI offers a different path. one that aligns technical design with user interests.
Closing Thought
Local-first AI is not anti-cloud.
It is anti-unnecessary cloud.
AI tools should empower users without requiring surveillance, connectivity, or dependence.