Google using Chrome to install AI files without permission

Image via Google

Hey guys, that four gigabytes of artificial intelligence model you didn’t ask? Good news! It’s finished downloading onto your computer. Unwanted data-sucking software: it’s just another way that Google is watching out for you, ensuring that—oh. You don’t want an AI dumped on your system without your permission, and you think Google damn well knows better? Welp…

From Gizmodo:

Security researcher Alexander Hanff, also known as “That Privacy Guy,” recently reported that Google’s widely used Chrome web browser is quietly storing an on-device AI model without explicitly asking for user permission… According to Hanff, Chrome secretly stashes about 4GB of AI model files on Chrome users’ devices (though it should be noted that many users have been unable to find the file). The reported model is stored in a folder called OptGuideOnDeviceModel. The largest part of that folder is a file called weights.bin. Hanff claims that the weights are for Gemini Nano, Google’s lighter-weight, on-device version of its large language model.

It’s just one more example of there being no such thing as a free lunch where the Internet or massive data hoarding, crawling hands of death corporations are concerned. At the time that this post was written, there was no way to remove the local AI from its host system without removing Google’s Chrome browser.

Take this as a hint that it might be time to switch to another browser. Firefox, for example, is free to download. As with Chrome, it can be customized to within an inch of its life using plug-ins and themes, including a ton of tweaks that help secure your personal information. Perhaps most importantly, in the context of this story, Firefox’s parent company, Mozilla, allows you to choose whether or not the browser employs AI as a feature.