Keeping the Remote Control: Why I’m Done Letting Big Tech Run My Life



 By Anubhav Somani

In 2026, the internet feels a bit like a crowded market where everyone is trying to sell you something while simultaneously picking your pocket for data. As a developer, I’ve spent my 20s building things like the Porus wallet and the Get Scroll app. I love the tech, but I’ve realized that if you aren't careful, you stop being the guy who builds the tools and start being the guy who is just a "user" of someone else’s brain.

Lately, I’ve stopped using big words like "sovereignty" or "paradigm shifts." Let’s call it what it really is: Ownership.It’s about being the one who holds the remote control. It’s about knowing that if a billionaire in Silicon Valley decides to change a line of code, my business at Envision Education Academy or my media projects at Dark Garbage don’t just vanish into thin air.

Here is my down-to-earth take on staying in control, keeping your head on straight with crypto, and why I’m obsessed with keeping my AI on my own desk.

The "Rent" vs. "Buy" Problem with AI

Think about your AI like a house. Using a Cloud API is like renting a fancy apartment. It’s polished, it’s easy, and someone else handles the plumbing. But at any moment, the landlord can raise the rent, change the locks, or walk through your living room to see what you’re doing.

When I run a model like Llama or Phi-3 on my own laptop using Ollama, I’ve bought the house.

  • No Prying Eyes: When I’m working on a secret feature for a new app, I don’t want to send that code to a server in another country. I want to keep my "secrets" in my own room.

  • The "Internet is Down" Test: Have you ever been in the middle of a coding flow in Indore and the fiber line gets cut? If your AI lives in the cloud, you’re stuck. If it lives on your desk, you keep working.

  • It’s Cheaper Long-Term: Paying for API "tokens" is like paying for every breath you take. Buying a solid GPU (even if it’s expensive upfront) means the "breathing" is free from then on.

The Crypto "Noise" and How to Stay Sane

The crypto world in 2026 is louder than a wedding procession on MG Road. Every five minutes, there’s a "new" coin that promises to change the world. Most of them are just junk.

As a developer, I’ve had to learn how to ignore the hype and look at the "bones" of a project. If I’m looking at a new token, I ask myself: Does this actually do anything, or is it just a fancy logo?

When I built the reward systems for Get Scroll, I realized that people just want things that work. They don't want a 50-page whitepaper; they want a system that rewards them for their time without being a headache. My advice? If you can’t explain what a coin does to your grandmother in two sentences, it’s probably not worth your money.

My Personal Advice: How to Actually Win as a Developer

I’m 25, I’ve started a few companies, and I’ve made plenty of mistakes. If we were sitting down together, here is the honest, "human" advice I’d give you for navigating 2026:

1. Your Gear is Your Freedom

Stop thinking of a high-end PC or a powerful Mac as a luxury. It’s your workshop.

  • Real Talk: I see guys spending money on fancy cars or expensive dinners but struggling to run a basic AI model locally. Prioritize your "gear." If you have enough VRAM to run a smart AI model without the internet, you have a 24/7 employee that never asks for a salary. That is how you scale a business like Envision without burning out.

2. Don’t Let "Agent" AI Make You Lazy

We have these "agents" now—little AI workers that can code for us. They are great, but they can make you a "code-monkey" if you aren't careful.

  • Real Talk: If you let the AI do all the thinking, your own "brain-muscles" will get weak. I use AI to do the boring stuff (like writing unit tests or boilerplate), but I keep the "logic" for myself. You need to be the one who knows why the code works, not just the one who knows how to paste it.

3. The "Indian Tax" Strategy

Look, the 1% TDS and the 30% tax in India suck. There’s no other way to say it. But complaining doesn’t pay the bills.

  • Real Talk: Stop trying to "day trade" your way to wealth in India. The tax friction will eat you alive. Instead, build products. Use crypto as a tool for your apps, not just something you gamble on. When you build a product like a wallet or an educational tool, you’re creating value that lasts longer than a price chart.

4. Build a "Personal Memory"

One of the best things I ever did was start saving all my notes, my old code snippets, and my ideas into a "local memory" (what techies call RAG).

  • Real Talk: I have a local AI that knows exactly how I like to write my Kotlin code for Android. It knows how I want my YouTube scripts for Envision Everything to sound. It’s like having a twin brother who is also a developer. Start saving your work in a way that your local AI can read it. It makes you 10x faster because you never have to solve the same problem twice.

The Dangers: What Actually Keeps Me Up at Night

I’m not worried about "killer robots." I’m worried about "The Fog."

"The Fog" is when we get so used to AI-generated content (what I call Dark Garbage) that we stop knowing what’s real. We see a video, and we don't know if it’s a human or a deepfake. We read an article, and we don't know if a person actually felt those words or if a machine just predicted them.

The danger of 2026 is losing our Human Connection. That’s why I still value things like my sister Anushka’s advice or my father Shailendra’s perspective. No AI can replace the people who actually know you.

Final Thoughts: Be the Guy Holding the Tools

At the end of the day, being a developer in 2026 is about one thing: Not being a puppet.

Whether you’re in Indore or anywhere else, the goal is to use these amazing tools—AI, Crypto, Blockchain—to make your life better, not to let them become your boss.

  • Keep your data on your own desk.

  • Keep your "secrets" in your own encrypted wallets.

  • And most importantly, keep your own brain sharp.

The smartest guy in the room isn't the one with the most AI subscriptions; it’s the guy who owns his hardware, understands his code, and knows when to turn the screen off and just be a human. We’re building the future, but let’s make sure it’s a future where we are still the ones in charge.

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