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.
I’m not sure if Gemini is that much better or they slowly degraded Assistant. I distinctly remember being able to ask certain things of Assistant and a year ago it stopped working. Assistant was still there but many requests no longer worked.
Android Auto was recently upgraded to Gemini. On a drive today, I asked Gemini to explain the privacy implications of bill C-22 (Canada), and it gave me very detailed clear explanation of the pros and cons of the bill, asked if I was a company or person and then gave me highlights relative to who I was. Pretty impressive actually.
I’m not sure if Gemini is that much better or they slowly degraded Assistant. I distinctly remember being able to ask certain things of Assistant and a year ago it stopped working. Assistant was still there but many requests no longer worked.
Android Auto was recently upgraded to Gemini. On a drive today, I asked Gemini to explain the privacy implications of bill C-22 (Canada), and it gave me very detailed clear explanation of the pros and cons of the bill, asked if I was a company or person and then gave me highlights relative to who I was. Pretty impressive actually.