AI and your company's data: what leaves the building and what doesn't.

When a model reads an invoice, that invoice has to reach wherever the model runs. For the most capable models, "wherever" is a big provider's server, usually outside Romania. That isn't automatically a problem. But it isn't a detail to wave away either, especially when the invoice carries your customers' data.

Three options

A model over an API, from a big provider. The most capable and the easiest to get running. The business contracts of these providers usually state that the data isn't used to train models and is deleted after a short time. I check that in writing before I use one, and where possible I choose processing inside the European Union.

A model running on your side. Open models have become good enough for reading invoices or sorting emails. They run on your own server or on one rented in the EU, and the data goes nowhere. It costs a little more to set up and is a little less capable. For sensitive data, it's my preferred option.

No AI. If the data is tidy, we don't have this conversation at all. A rule sends nothing anywhere.

What I do whichever option we pick

• I send the model only what it needs. To sort an email, it doesn't need the customer's whole history.
• I strip or mask what isn't necessary: personal ID numbers, bank account numbers, phone numbers, if the task doesn't call for them.
• I write into your company's privacy policy who processes what. GDPR requires it, and your customers deserve to know.
• I keep a log: what was sent, when, to whom. If we switch providers in a year, we know exactly what went where.

Five questions for anyone selling you "AI"

1. Where does the model run, physically?
2. Are my data used for training? Show me where it says so.
3. How long are they kept?
4. What exactly do you send: the whole document or only the fields you need?
5. Can I move, later, to a model that runs on my side?

If you don't get clear answers to all five, it isn't ready for your data. You shouldn't accept less from me either.