Tim Berners-Lee presented his AI assistant Charlie during an event at SXSW London on Wednesday. The tool is designed to give users control over their personal data when interacting with large language models.
Berners-Lee, the inventor of the web, developed Charlie through his company Inrupt alongside CEO John Bruce. The agent stores user data in a personal vault and requires explicit permission before sharing any details with external services.
Charlie also applies obfuscation to limit how much information reaches models like ChatGPT or Claude. Bruce noted that banks are likely to be among the first partners to offer the technology.
Berners-Lee expressed satisfaction with the launch, describing himself as "right chuffed" to see the agent reach users. The system aims to prevent personal data from being permanently retained by major tech platforms.
