Privacy advocates often view artificial intelligence (AI) as an extension of surveillance tools. Yet, Andy Yen, founder of encryption-focused company Proton, believes AI can be integrated into consumer technology without compromising user data.

Yen’s journey began with a physicist’s curiosity and Snowden's revelations on government surveillance. Now, Proton has over 100 million users and offers end-to-end encrypted versions of Google services, aiming for a privacy-first approach in tech.

The rise of awareness about online data sharing has seen a shift from mere thousands to millions of users trusting Proton’s products. By dislodging people from the Google ecosystem, Yen hopes to create an internet where user privacy is the norm rather than an afterthought.

Despite some success, Yen remains pragmatic: Proton still operates on a freemium model with only 1-3% of users paying for premium services. This illustrates that while there’s growing interest in privacy, many are satisfied with free access to basic services.