Google Chrome is downloading a 4 GB Gemini Nano model onto users' machines without consent, with no opt-in, no opt-out short of enterprise tooling, and an automatic re-download every time the user deletes it. The pattern is identical to the Anthropic Claude Desktop case I wrote about last month, but the scale is between two and three orders of magnitude larger. This article does the legal analysis and, for the first time, the environmental analysis. The numbers are not small.
Just because the software is running on your device doesn’t mean it can’t phone home. You might not care about your local storage but 4GB is pretty steep for some of us.
Not to mention the performance impact of actually running the thing.
Just because the software is running on your device doesn’t mean it can’t phone home. You might not care about your local storage but 4GB is pretty steep for some of us.
Not to mention the performance impact of actually running the thing.
Honestly shouldn’t even explain it to him. With a thought process like his he deserves what’s coming to him.