Tired of every smart assistant query being sent to the cloud, potentially exposing your personal data and increasing costs? Perplexity offers a solution: the new Hybrid Compute feature. It allows for smarter distribution of tasks between the capabilities of cloud models and your computer's local resources. The essence of the technology is simple, but the effect is significant. Hybrid Compute automatically recognizes which data is confidential or personal and processes it directly on your device. This means your private files and information do not leave the confines of your Mac, ensuring enhanced security and privacy.
While cloud AI models remain indispensable for complex and resource-intensive tasks, local processing reduces the load on Perplexity's servers and, consequently, potentially lowers costs for the user. This can also mean faster responses to some queries, as there's no need for data transmission over the network.
Currently, the Hybrid Compute feature is available in the Perplexity app for Mac computers with Apple Silicon processors. This is a logical step, given the growing computational power of modern Apple chips, which are capable of efficiently performing machine learning tasks locally. For Mac users, this means the ability to use Perplexity's advanced AI tools with greater confidence in the security of their data and, possibly, with lower costs.