what guarantee do you have that it won't share insights with the developer
For one, because I use my inference code, not "the developer's code", but it's good to check nonetheless. I'll run some wireshark tests later this week and let everyone know if I find something fishy in things like llama.cpp or transformers.
FWIW, your concern is not without precedent; see for example #1057075 for something that does exactly what you say. This is why as a coder, using a MS IDE or a fork of it is kind of a self-own, always has been (and it is not that great quality software anyway.)
Most importantly, making yourself dependent on an AI makes you open to concepts where the AI is controlling many aspects of your life.
Have to retain the skills. This is very true. We had a discussion about this not too long ago: #998489
llama.cpportransformers.