Inventor of Kind · AI Pioneer · Entrepreneur
Inventor of Kind · AI Pioneer · Entrepreneur
40+ years at the forefront of AI, building practical and trustworthy systems
Jonathan Schaeffer is the inventor of Kind and has been at the forefront of artificial intelligence for more than 40 years. Alongside his work as an AI researcher, he has been an entrepreneur and inventor focused on building practical, trustworthy AI systems that solve real problems.
Jonathan's career includes leading or contributing to AI systems that mastered checkers and competed against world-class poker players—both achievements recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records. He co-founded his first AI software company, BioTools, in 1995, was a co-founder of the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii), and a founding partner at Onlea, now a global leader in online learning.
Kind was first conceived in 2017 and took shape while Jonathan was teaching full-time and responding to hundreds of student emails. He created an AI system that interacted only with documents he explicitly provided, ensuring accuracy, explainability, and trust. After years of personal use and refinement, Kind evolved into a downloadable desktop application that allows users to curate their own data, interact with it in depth, and gain insights—without sacrificing privacy.
Kind reflects Jonathan's belief that users should own their knowledge and ideas. You curate your data; Kind curates the AI.
M.Math (1980), Ph.D. (1986) Computer Science
1979 - 1986
B.Sc., Computer Science
1975 - 1978
Guinness World Records
AI mastering checkers & poker
Co-Founded BioTools (1995)
Leading-edge bioinformatics software company
Co-founder of Amii
Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute
Privacy-First AI
Building Kind since 2017
A privacy-first AI desktop application for your own curated knowledge
Kind (Knowledge IN Depth) is a privacy-first AI desktop application that enables users to search, analyze, and gain insights from their own curated data—not the internet. Unlike generic chatbots or cloud-based AI tools, Kind operates primarily on the user's own computer, with clear boundaries, transparency, and explainability around how AI is used.
Kind supports documents, images, audio, video, and multiple languages, allowing users to connect ideas, discover themes, and retrieve information that traditional search engines or cloud LLMs cannot. It addresses growing concerns around AI hallucinations, data privacy, and misuse.
Operates primarily on your own computer with clear boundaries and transparency.
Answers are generated solely from your data—when information is absent, Kind says "I don't know."
Personal knowledge never becomes training data for large corporate models.
Synsira's private desktop AI, Kind, is available direct to consumers and is particularly valuable to key audiences in three areas:
Lawyers, professors, and comms professionals using Kind to reduce preparation time across drafts, courses, and client knowledge.
Influencers, writers, and artists protecting their personal brand while generating new work.
Serial investors, family historians, and PhD students organizing and searching decades of personal archives and research.
Subscription-based model
Drag-and-drop interface for easy data curation
Conversations Jonathan brings to every podcast
The growing importance of data sovereignty and privacy in an AI-driven world.
Understanding what happens to your data and why trust matters.
The principles behind explainable, transparent, and reliable AI systems.
Moving beyond conversational AI to genuine knowledge management.
How AI can help us organize, connect, and leverage our own information.
Using AI as a tool for augmentation, not automation.
Making advanced AI accessible and accountable to everyone.
Ready-to-use questions for your interview
Watch Jonathan discuss AI, innovation, and the future of technology
Your AI Is Quietly Stealing Your Life's Work
Building Trustworthy AI Systems
The Future of Personal AI
Kind: A Privacy-First Desktop AI
MOOCs: Reimagining Post-secondary Undergraduate Education | TEDxUAlberta
The Games Computers (and Humans) Play
Artificial Intelligence and Games | Tech and Future of Medicine
On Online Learning – What Will You Teach the World?
Interested in having Jonathan on your podcast? Let's connect.
or contact directly: kylie.adams@moburst.com
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