I work at a Fortune 50 company with hundreds of analysts, engineers, data scientists, and from socializing and networking with people, it’s become really clear to me that a lot of people are using their own PC or paying for AI out of pocket. This was shocking to me, as I thought that the company was funding AI like API GPT for work. But it seems like a lot of people are actually using their own personal computers at home and paying for API access to Claude, GPT4, or even getting local AI models like Llama 3.1. When I was talking to a data scientist specifically, He explains that he spent $2900 out of his own paycheck to get a top of the line computer with a really good processor and RTX 4080 Just so he can run his own local AI model for work in order to solve business problems… Like, I was shocked, they’re not bringing company data onto their own devices or anything, but they are using local AI models to generate code in python, SQL, C#, stuff like that…
Here’s an example of a redditor who appears to be doing the same thing. He talks about how the company is investing strategically long run, but won’t pay for AI resources, so he just pays for it out of pocket. This is actually very common and very similar to what I’ve heard at work!!
Does anyone else have any experience or has heard of This being done? I’ve never heard of this before, but apparently it’s more common than I thought. Pretty crazy to pay out of pocket for this kind of stuff
I’ve always kept a strict separation between work and personal projects, including a personal laptop, accounts, and yes, paying for AI services. For a while, a few years ago, while commuting on the company shuttle, I even had my own MiFi cell access point and a laptop battery booster so I could work on my own projects on the bus and not be accused of using company resources.
Most employment contracts spell out that anything you create using company resources is the property of the company. Legally, they own everything that passes though their computers, software, and networks.
Also, many corporations run system monitoring services on their laptops and MDM mobile data management on mobile phones (for example JAMF on Apple devices). These monitor things like file access, copying, communications, and web access. This data is sent to central servers for processing and looking for anomalies based on pre-set rules. This might sound tin-foily, but it’s mandated by legal in a lot of companies, including small and medium sized ones.
If you want to use non-company data to do AI work, or develop a service or idea on your own, or even keep your text messages and email private, you’ll want to use your own equipment, accounts, and services.
Edit: also, if you get laid-off or fired, you’ll want to have a decent personal rig so you can continue working on your own projects while looking for work. Even if working on a novel on the side, suggest keeping everything off company systems.