Why We Are Building CZero
Look, we’re drowning in AI hype. Every day there’s another “revolutionary” AI agent that’s going to “transform your workflow forever.” Meanwhile, half the discussion around AI dependency and data sovereignty feels like detached-from-reality virtue signaling from people who just want to appear thoughtful about tech ethics.
But here’s what we see coming: ChatGPT, Claude, and other cloud AIs are great tools. The problem isn’t the tools - it’s that you have no inherent value to offer once you’re just another user feeding data into someone else’s system. Eventually, you become replaceable.
The Real Issue
It’s not that cloud AI is bad. It’s that without your own AI interface, you’re just a data source with no unique value to preserve.
What We’re Actually Building
We’re not trying to replace cloud AI. We’re building a personal AI interface - your own AI layer that works with everything but keeps you valuable in the process.
Three things we care about:
🔒 Your Personal AI Context
Local processing that understands your patterns, preferences, and workspace - then intelligently interfaces with any AI provider on your behalf.
🧠 AI Interface, Not Replacement
Inject your personal context into ChatGPT, Claude, or whatever comes next. Use cloud AI power while maintaining your unique value.
💰 Preserving Your Value
Long-term: as AI gets commoditized, your curated workspace and context become the scarce resource. You stay valuable, not marginalized.
How It Actually Works
CZero Webapp (Available Now)
Free local RAG with zero effort - just add your docs and start querying. Everything runs in your browser, no installation needed. We might ask for registration eventually to prove “traction” (sigh), but it’s open access.
// What the webapp does today (conceptually)
const localRAG = new CZeroRAG({
vectorStore: 'sqlite (file system access)',// Local browser storage
embedding: 'on-device', // WebAssembly models
llm: 'local-inference', // No external API calls
mode: 'document-qa' // Pure local RAG
});
// Query your documents locally
const response = await localRAG.query(
"Find my ML notes about scaling issues"
);CZero Desktop Overlay (Work in Progress)
The real personal AI interface stuff - context injection, intelligent routing to different providers, persistent memory across apps - that’s coming with our desktop overlay app. Think of it as your AI chief of staff that knows you well and can enhance any AI interaction.
Check out the desktop overlay preview →
Planned Features (if we don’t run out of money)
- Context Detection & Injection: Real-time context analysis with content injection and semantic understanding across applications
- Agentic Workflow Engine: Multi-agent coordination with workflow generation, task decomposition, and result synthesis
- Online Associative Memory (OAM): High-dimensional temporal data mapping into embedding space, enabling integration with consumer devices like VR headsets, smartwatches, and emerging brain-computer interfaces
- Computer User Agent (CUA): Desktop automation with workflow orchestration and multi-app coordination that learns from user patterns
The Long-term Vision
Eventually: you own your AI context and can take it anywhere. Switch providers, share workspaces P2P, or monetize your curated knowledge. But first, we need to make both the webapp and desktop overlay work really well.
The Roadmap (Subject to Reality)
| What | Status | Honest Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| Local RAG | ✅ Working | Actually usable, give it a try |
| Desktop Overlay | 🔄 Building | Harder than expected, making progress |
| P2P Infrastructure | 📋 Maybe | Sounds cool, lots of technical challenges |
| AI Marketplace | 🎯 Someday | If we survive that long |
Why This Matters (Despite the Hype)
Most AI tools are just wrappers around existing APIs - ChatGPT interfaces, Claude frontends, OpenAI integrations. They’re not building personal AI interfaces that preserve your unique value. Meanwhile, you’re becoming increasingly replaceable:
- Your unique knowledge gets absorbed into general models
- You pay for AI that learns from you but gives you no ownership
- As AI gets better, what makes you valuable as an individual?
- Eventually, you’re just another subscription feeding someone else’s moat
We want to keep you valuable in an AI-first world. Not by fighting cloud AI, but by making sure you have your own AI layer that preserves and amplifies what makes you unique.
Want to Try It?
We’re not claiming we’ll change the world. We just built something that works and thought others might find it useful.
Check It Out
- Try the App: Zero-effort Local RAG in your browser - app.czero.cc
- Discord: Chat with other people who care about personal AI - Join here
- Email Us: Questions, feedback, or just want to say hi - [email protected]
Where We’re Headed Next
We’re a small team with big ambitions. Next few months: getting the right people on board (reaching out to some big names), collecting traction metrics (yes, we’ll probably need your email eventually), and shipping the desktop overlay alpha to early users.
Closing Words
Given the current landscape, most AI companies will fail. Most “revolutionary” ideas turn out to be incremental improvements. We might be wrong about everything.
But if you want to stay valuable in an AI-first world - not by fighting the inevitable, but by making sure you control your own AI layer - maybe give our approach a shot. At worst, you’ll be learning from what we are doing wrong. At best, maybe we help you stay irreplaceable.
Your personal AI interface. Stay valuable.
