Hark launches AI personal assistant focused on privacy

AI lab Hark has released a personal assistant product that it describes as an operating system built around user privacy, according to TechCrunch. The company is positioning the product to compete with other AI personal assistants on the market, including Muse, Dots and Instinct.

TechCrunch's report describes the assistant as designed to function like "an operating system from the future," though the specific technical architecture, underlying models and privacy mechanisms used by Hark's product were not detailed in the available report.

The AI personal assistant market has grown increasingly competitive as multiple companies race to build consumer-facing tools that can manage tasks, answer questions and integrate with other software, with privacy emerging as a differentiating feature some companies are emphasising to distinguish their products from larger, data-intensive competitors.

It was not specified in the report which platforms the Hark assistant currently supports, whether it is available to the public immediately or in a limited release, or what pricing model the company plans to use.

Hark's emphasis on privacy suggests an attempt to appeal to users concerned about how personal data is collected and used by AI assistants, a concern that has grown alongside the broader expansion of AI-powered consumer products.