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The browser with a sidebar AI chatbot? What a simple solution.
Firefox lets you disable all AI features with 1 setting switch.
Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device without consent
201–210 of 1001 posts
Re: Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device without consent
#202[flagged]
LibreWolf.
Re: Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device without consent
#203Earlier quoted context omitted.
Firefox added split view where you can look at two (or more) webpages side by side. This is a lifesaver when you have to fill up a form looking up stuff from another page!
Chrome does this split-screen. Web browsers are operating systems, for all intents & purposes. Ask any Emacs evangelist.
I love my emacs brothers and sisters but yea. If you are running docker emacs and a web browser you basically have 4 OSs running at the same time
Re: Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device without consent
#204Earlier quoted context omitted.
Oh is this the browser by that company that are funded half a billion dollars a year by Google and want to become an advertising company[1] and wants their browser to become a modern AI browser[2]? [1] https://www.jwz.org/blog/2024/10/mozillas-ceo-doubles-down-o... [2] https://blog.mozilla.org/en/mozilla/leadership/mozillas-next...
We Should Improve Society Somewhat
Why is this downvoted lol. It's so reasonable
Re: Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device without consent
#205[flagged]
I use Firefox as my main browser but occasionally run into Chrome requirements for certain web apps so end up begrudgingly installing it. I'm in the habit of going straight to the chrome flags page and turning off all this junk exactly because disk usage of chrome is ridiculous otherwise.
I did the same thing, but realized I was contributing to the problem. If a web app requires Chrome for full functionality, then us switching browsers is giving them permission to continue and expand their invasive practices.
These days, I just navigate away from anything that demands I use Chrome "for best results." One of the sites for a local utility company does this, so instead I just call monthly and pay or manage my service by phone. I'm old enough to remember when that was the preferred way after mailing personal cheques went the way of the dodo, so it does not feel that inconvenient to me, but I can see where it might for other people. Still, nobody said the fight to regaining our agency online would be easy. Or convenient.
Re: Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device without consent
#206[flagged]
I use Firefox as my main browser but occasionally run into Chrome requirements for certain web apps so end up begrudgingly installing it. I'm in the habit of going straight to the chrome flags page and turning off all this junk exactly because disk usage of chrome is ridiculous otherwise.
Like what?
I think the only time I've ever had to use Chrome instead of Firefox was because of some USB device thing that worked inside Chrome. Otherwise everything just works in Firefox.
Re: Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device without consent
#207If Chrome has the #optimization-guide-on-device-model and #prompt-api-for-gemini-nano flags enabled, either because it's part of some Origin Trial / Early Stable Release or something, then web pages will have access to the new Prompt API which allows any webpage to initiate the (one-time) download of the ~2.7 GiB CPU or ~4.0 GiB GPU model using LanguageModel.create() https://developer.chrome.com/docs/ai/prompt-api Wh…
It is a small model, so what utility can I / Google expect from it? What is the on-board model used for?
It's not a very good small model to be honest.
That said, you might be surprised to learn that some of the models from 3b-9b could probably replace 80% of the things nonvibe coders use chatgpt for.
Its a good idea to run small models locally if your computer can host them for privacy and cash saving reasons. But how can you trust Google to autoinstall one on your machine in 2026? I just couldn't do it.
Re: Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device without consent
#208Earlier quoted context omitted.
They've been consuming 15+ years of anti-Mozilla rants anytime it or Firefox are mentioned online. It's how you get things like "Browser monocultures are an issue, so don't use Chrome (Blink), use Brave (Chromium (Blink)) instead!" said in earnest.
The more time goes on the more I feel like I live on a different planet. Even things like "shouldn't you be able to decide what software you run on the stuff you own?" gets blank stares.
Hello fellow extraterrestrial
Re: Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device without consent
#209Earlier quoted context omitted.
Some parts of the anti-AI movement are becoming so unhinged that now any use of compute is considered an environmental threat. This degrowth mentality needs to die.
If it's emissions they worry about, then it's anything emitting. Are they against washing machines too? Or are they just grandfathered in?
This is literally why the EU mandates appliance energy efficiency.
It's never a binary thing. "Is using energy good or bad?" is a stupid question which can only provide stupid answers. It has to be placed in the context of whether it's proportionate to benefit.
Things which burn a lot of energy for little benefit - and in the case of AI, often negative benefit - end up more towards the "bad".
Re: Google Chrome silently installs a 4 GB AI model on your device without consent
#210I thought using local rather than cloud AI was pretty universally agreed to be good?
There is a secret, third option.