Note #8 to Ken: PrivateGPT: Own Your Company’s AI Roadmap
Dear Ken,
Relying on Big Tech’s AI platforms to drive your company’s innovation ties you to their roadmap—and even potentially puts your intellectual property at risk.
I was recently chatting with some forward-thinking colleagues about rolling out AI in the enterprise. Naturally, I championed the PrivateGPT approach for medium-to-large companies. But one pushback kept coming up:
“Big Tech makes it easy to build on their platforms, and we trust they’ll keep our data safe and keep improving their tools.”
Fair point. Let’s unpack that using my experience as one of the earliest testers of Google Agentspace in higher ed:
What’s great about Agentspace?
If you already use Google Workspace, you can instantly build AI “agents” on your existing Google Drive data.
You get direct access to Google Gemini LLM AI against your files.
It’s fast to get started—no custom setup required.
But here’s the catch:
Limited database support.
If your data lives in a database that Agentspace doesn’t support yet, you’re stuck waiting on Google’s roadmap.
How long will that take? And how much sway do you really have over their priorities?
Vendor lock-in.
Thinking of switching cloud providers someday? All your custom agents and AI workflows stay behind.
Data usage clarity.
Google says they don’t train their models on your private data—but what about your agents?
Could your proprietary agent designs sneak into their next-gen products? It’s hard to know for sure.
I’m not knocking Google—I love Agentspace, I have great respect for Google, and I see tons of promise. But dependency on any single vendor means you’re tied to their timeline and decisions.
The takeaway: Give your team the freedom to build and evolve AI on your own terms—tailor solutions to your priorities and keep your IP firmly in your hands.
So what do you think?
With care,
Dr. Joe, Your AI Doctor
These notes are for 'Ken' and 'Sookie,' the American names my young Korean immigrant parents adopted while navigating profound change as they moved to the US in the 1970’s. In the notes within this blog, I imagine them as young adults again, but now encountering change and uncertainty from today's AI shifts – Sookie with potential job uncertainty, Ken with business disruption.
Drawing inspiration from their historical resilience as young immigrants facing the unknown, I'm compelled to write with empathy and offer truly helpful thoughts for anyone navigating AI's rapid evolution. Remember, this isn't financial or direct strategic advice, but a perspective to encourage your own thoughtful consideration. I do not identify myself as their son in these notes, but in reality, I write with a son’s heart.
My notes to Sookie will always be free, as I understand employees often navigate workplace changes with fewer resources and support systems. My notes to Ken will be offered at an accessible price point designed to be a worthwhile investment for businesses of any size looking to adapt to AI changes.