AI note-taking apps often record and transcribe entire conversations, capturing a lot of potentially sensitive information.
Recently, Zoom introduced its GenAI-powered Zoom Docs, which aims to boost efficiency by converting information from Zoom meetings into actionable documents and knowledge bases. Smita Hashim, the chief product officer at Zoom, emphasised its time-saving potential, stating, "Zoom Docs is purpose-built to empower people to 'work happy' and give them more time back in their day."
However, many users still want to stick to the traditional method of note-taking. A Reddit user mentioned: "Writing is thinking. Write your notes so you know what you think about them. You're only shortcutting yourself when you use AI."
Another user explained that he uses LLMs to analyse data but still makes notes manually. "My machine is too low on RAM to have a local LLM," he added, further suggesting that running LLMs locally would be a better choice but he is limited by system resources.
But users have different opinions for tools like Obsidian, which allows you to use LLM locally through a plugin called Your Smart Second Brain. It even allows you to use your notes as a database and give you better insights and can be disabled to read your notes.
Andrej Karpathy praised Obsidian for being simple and having no vendor lock-in features.
There are other note-taking softwares, similar to Obsidian, like Reor, which uses AI to organise notes but all the AI work is done by running models locally and using Ollama, Transformers.js and LanceDB to power them.
One of the key concerns among users is how much personal data these AI tools collect and what that data is used for. AI note-taking apps often record and transcribe entire conversations, capturing a lot of potentially sensitive information.
This data may be used to train and improve the AI models, without users having full transparency or control over the process. There are questions about how long the data is retained, who has access to it, and how well it is secured against breaches or unauthorised access.
Note-taking apps like Evernote don't even encrypt your data. A software engineer on Reddit has confirmed that Evernote employees can read your data. So, using such apps with existing privacy concerns makes matters worse.
The idea is not to remove AI and note-taking apps from the app centre but to use something which respects your privacy. Obsidian is certainly one good example. Joplin follows the same approach, where you can use extensions to extend features. Joplin is an open-source note-taking app, where you can use extensions like Jarvis to use AI capabilities, which work both online and offline.
You can also consider Notty, which is an open-source local-first note-taking app. The good thing about Notty is you can use AI to help you write better notes and all the data will be stored locally. Sure, you can opt for cloud sync, but that is optional.
Alternatively, you can try running LLMs locally on your computer and then use any open-source note-taking app to get the most secure platform to take notes.
It's Not that bad
Ilya Shabanov, the founder of The Effortless Academics, mentioned in his recent podcast that he has integrated ChatGPT to notes, which assists users while making notes and also helps users to know if the notes are relevant to the topic or not.
A Reddit user mentioned that Otter.AI has helped him a lot to take notes efficiently while attending meetings as it not only generates transcription but also uses AI to give key points of the meeting itself.
The AI note-taking market is rapidly expanding, with a projected value of $19.46 billion by 2028. This growth is driven by the increasing demand for tools that can improve productivity and knowledge management. As a result, numerous AI note-taking apps have emerged, each offering unique features and benefits.
