---
title: "Ask the Brain"
created: 2025-10-15
visibility: public
status: live
tags: [search, ai, answers, citations]
aliases: ["question answering", "brain search", "cited answers"]
updated: 2025-10-17
summary: "Ask a question, get an answer that cites specific notes. No invention. If it can't cite, it doesn't answer."
---

I want to be able to ask questions and get answers from my notes. Not generic AI slop. Real answers with citations.

Ask "How do I think about automation?" and get back an answer that links to the exact notes where I've written about it. No hallucinations. If it can't cite a note, it doesn't answer.

This only works if notes are [[Atomic Notes]] with clear claims. [[AI shapes voice dumps into atomic notes]] needs to create notes that are actually searchable and cite-able.

Private questions run on [[The Commune box]] ([[Private AI outperforms cloud AI]]). Your sensitive questions never leave your server.