AI Support - User Data

[abe-mart]

The integration of an AI support agent is a cool idea, and will probably be very helpful. However, unexpectedly sending user data to an unaffiliated commercial site (alphapeak.io) without consent or notification is...not a good look. This is especially true given rising concerns around malware in the Python ecosystem (e.g. https://checkmarx.com/blog/pypi-is-under-attack-project-creation-and-user-registration-suspended/)

From reading the current documentation, a user might infer that the support agent is installed locally with the package, which is not the case. I would suggest that the documentation be updated to clarify how user data is collected and handled to avoid any misunderstandings.

[APMonitor]

It's sad to see Typosquatting attacks eroding trust. I'm hopeful that they'll find ways to better validate packages and eliminate those methods that have the potential to destroy the Python ecosystem of open-source package development.

Great suggestion about transparency. The apopt.com, apmonitor.com, and alphapeak.io websites are all maintained by the same team. Most LLMs are too slow on a local computer if a user doesn't have a substantial GPU. I'm working on a remote=False option, similar to the GEKKO() module to allow a user to run locally. I'll also include a print statement that notifies the user if they are using the remote=True option.

[APMonitor]

Added additional information to the documentation: https://gekko.readthedocs.io/en/latest/support.html

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[APMonitor]

After working on it a while, it seems like the remote=False option isn't a good fit for the support module because of the additional requirements such as the ollama server and a number of other dependencies such as sufficient GPU capability. Instead, a complete tutorial on replicating the Gekko AI Assistant locally is provided in the Data-Driven Engineering course. Additional documentation notes are added to highlight that the support agent sends messages to a server for processing.