Google Chrome Installs AI on Your PC WITHOUT Your Permission.

Added: 2026-05-12

[00:00:03]All right, guys. So, it's not just Microsoft is stuffing everything full of AI, whether or not its users want it. It is now Google as well with Chrome.

[00:00:14]Apparently, they're stuffing AI into Google Chrome. They did not ask people.

[00:00:20]And according to Futurism, Fury is erupting after Google Chrome sneakily installs a 4 gigabyte AI model on users PC. So, it's it's installing an AI model, a complete model on your computer. It did that. Oh my god. Okay.

[00:00:34]So, we're going to take a look at this.

[00:00:37]And uh I don't know what to tell you. I mean, anymore it feels like the browser is not your gateway to the internet.

[00:00:44]It's just another marketing tool.

[00:00:46]Especially when it comes to Google and Microsoft and these big corporations.

[00:00:50]They're going to push their AI wherever they can push it. They're going to shove it wherever they can shove it because they have to justify the insane amount of money that they're spending on AI.

[00:01:02]So, let's talk about this before we get into it any further. Please subscribe for more pop culture news, views, and rants. Guys, go out to more m o.clownfishtv.com.

[00:01:11]That's moreclownfishtv.com.

[00:01:15]more.clownfishtv.com rather. And we've got some paywold content out there you will not find on YouTube. and you can help support the reef for less than the cost of one super chat. You get access to all of our exclusive reefer content. So, thank you so much for the support. Let's look at this. This come from futurism. Fury erupts after Google Chrome sneakily installs 4 gig AI model on users PCs.

[00:01:39]Chrome did not ask did not ask your permission before shoving its AI up your ass. As of 2026, Google maintains an iron grip on the web browser market, boasting well over three billion Chrome users worldwide. Now, Google was in trouble there for a while. They were going to break them up and they were going to force them to sell Chrome, but that did not happen. That means even small changes or interruptions can have a significant impact, the article says.

[00:02:06]As security researcher Alexander the privacy guy noted on a blog post earlier this week, Google's web browser has been silently installing an AI model on users devices without asking for consent. Oh, this is a lawsuit waiting to happen. Uh H described the 4 gig file named weights.bin in a directory called opt guide ondevice model. The file contains weights, the learned numerical parameters of an AI model that teach it how to weigh the importance of various data points of Google's Gemini Nano, which is designed to live on computers, devices, not in the cloud.

[00:02:46]All right, so here's my feeling on AI.

[00:02:48]It's useful when it's useful. Uh, I think that it should always require consent. I think that especially if you're going to install on somebody's computer, just like Copilot, you need to ask people's consent. They don't these companies do not view your computer as something you own. They view it as a portal for selling you That's that's basically what it is. It is an interface to the internet, which in their minds they own. So if they put on your computer, it's totally fine because it's it's there for your own good so they can moni I'm sorry. It's there for for our investor's own good so they can monetize you better. Chrome did not ask Chrome does not surface it. If the user deletes it, Chrome reinstalls it.

[00:03:41]This is crazy. So, it's just like, yeah, it silently installs a 4 gig AI model on your device without your consent at a billion device scale. The climate costs are insane. Well, it's not even that. It's the fact that they're installing stuff on your computer without your consent. I mean, look, they've always done that. But in this case, 4 gig, that's crazy.

[00:04:07]Plenty of questions rem remain over the implications of the download or how it affects the performance of users devices beyond taking up a hefty amount of storage. Yeah, 4 gigabytes.

[00:04:18]My very first Mac was u it was a power Mac. It was a tower. That was the size of my hard drive. My entire hard drive was 4 gig. And I had all my graphic design files on that hard drive. And I had a whole bunch of uh ROMs on the hard drive because that was back when uh emulation just started. And I had like the entire MAME ROM set on there at the time and like every NES game ever made and Genesis game ever made and uh I was able to fit that on a 4 gig hard drive.

[00:04:52]This is crazy. It said considering the lack of transparency and massive growing AI backlash, it's certainly not a good look. Google has remained unusually silent on the matter. You expect you expect them to address it? Do they have anybody left at Google? Do they have any humans left at Google? Because my understanding is that Google is overrun with AI right now. And this is what's going on with YouTube and all these uh random channel demonetizations because they don't have humans actually looking at things over there anymore. It has yet to publicly address it. They're not going to address it because what are they supposed to say? Yeah, we installed a bunch of AI on your hard drive without your consent. That is litigation waiting to happen. That is a class action lawsuit. People are going to be pissed. The company didn't respond to Futurism's request for comment. Hamp argued that given the browser's billions of users, deploying the AI model could release between 6,000 and 60,000 tons of CO2 equivalent emissions, depending on how many devices received the push.

[00:05:53]nitizens who have long grown weary of having AI pushed on them without their consent were appalled. Yeah. Again, if you consent, that's fine. If you know what you're getting yourself into, that's fine. I think that people should have the option of opting out.

[00:06:09]Unfortunately, it is going to get harder and harder to opt out from AI if you're anti- AI because it literally is being shoved into everything. But this is this is a whole another level, right? you know, having it install something on your computer and god knows what else it has access to.

[00:06:29]And I'm actually reading this article on Chrome and I I'm like, "Oh shit."

[00:06:34]Oh, the irony. As I'm I'm reading from the Chrome browser and I'm going to upload this episode to YouTube.

[00:06:44]I'm just feeding the beast, man. Feeding the beast. Mr. Beast, because he's the only one making money on YouTube these days. Uh AI climate aside, my my real issue is that Google installs anything without my consent, no matter the size.

[00:06:56]One Reddit user wrote, "Yeah, thankfully I don't use Chrome. It's Firefox for me." Well, Firefox, there's some stuff going on with that, too. Others argue that uh Google was likely autoinstalling the model to artificially inflate its own AI user stats. Yes, this is what Microsoft was doing with Copilot, too.

[00:07:14]Now they're calling it something else because people are rejecting it. They have to go to the shareholders and they have to tell them how many users they have because they have to justify the insane amounts of money that they're spending on AI. All these companies, doesn't matter how big they are. Oh yeah, we have a plan. We have billions and billions of AI users, they're all using our AI. Well, do they all opt in?

[00:07:35]No, they did not. They're all using AI and they don't even realize they are.

[00:07:39]Technically, anybody who searches anything on Google now, you're using AI.

[00:07:43]That's why you get those those AI snippets, those overviews. What? You think there's some somebody at Google actually typing that in? No, that's coming from AI. Same with YouTube.

[00:07:53]YouTube is riddled with AI and they're doing it to justify the existence of AI.

[00:07:59]And um Sya Nadella at Microsoft said the quiet part out loud. He basically was like, you know, we really need consumers to to love the AI and find a use for it because we're spending an awful lot of money on it. And I really do think before it's all said and done that Microsoft and Google are going to harm themselves irreparably by chasing AI and trying to shove it into things when consumers don't want it. The demand's not there. Just because you can do something doesn't mean there's a market value for it. And we're also going to find out that uh the abilities of AI are way way way overstated. And again, this is coming from a guy who is pro- AAI as a tool. And I feel like I always have to like put a little asterisk, you know, behind it like, yeah, I am pro AAI as a tool, but I think it has to be consensual. I think you have to, you know, you cannot force it on people, especially now. And and this is about pumping numbers. That's what this is all about. and uh you know also shoving AI into everything. Cars, they're going to put it in cars, they're going to put it in your refrigerator, they're gonna put it in your television set, and it's all about uh spying on you. Basically, like Google, remember like people are like, "Hey, they're getting rid of the Google cookies. Oh, thank God Google can't follow me around on the internet anymore." And then they install an AI on your computer if you download Chrome.

[00:09:28]Come on. uh all of this so they can show the market that people are really using their AI crap. That is exactly what is going on. AI is so that companies have to force it down people's throats.

[00:09:40]You know, people would be a lot more inclined to give AI a chance. I think if they could see some real value from it, not just a bunch of fups, because that's what the headlines are all like. The AI screwed up. The AI screwed up. People are losing their jobs because of AI, but the AI is not good enough to replace people yet. But they're doing it just so they can toss people overboard. This is all a game to make the investors feel good. Yeah, I know we're shoveling trillions of dollars into the furnace, but there's going to be a payoff.

[00:10:12]Honest, there is. Someday the AI will be able to do basic math correctly. Someday the AI will get basic facts right.

[00:10:22]There were a few things Google could do to force users off of Chrome faster than this. Yeah, as laid out in his blog post, uh, Hamp found that the download of the file is triggered when the browser's default AI features are active. On a machine that meets hardware requirements, Chrome treats the user's hardware as a delivery target and writes the model.

[00:10:45]uh to stop it from reinstalling itself after deleting it. Hamp advised to disable AI features manually by digging into the browser's settings.

[00:10:53]This is the true definition of malware.

[00:10:55]One X user charged. Let's see here. Wow, this is Yeah, this is insane. So, here's how you turn it off. Okay, so Rift says if you have it on enhanced protection, it will install on the model. If you have it on standard, it will not.

[00:11:10]Confirmed on my machine. So, there you go, guys. Put it on standard protection, not enhanced.

[00:11:16]Real-time AI powered protection against dangerous sites except for Google, which installs malware on your computer. What the hell? Downloads and extensions is based on your browsing data get sent to Google.

[00:11:30]So, put on standard.

[00:11:32]Um, this person says, "A trick to deal with this is to replace all the files with empty files with the same name and make them read only." I did something like this with Anthropic CC to remove their sketch security prompts last year. Uh Anthony says, "Still using Firefox with non-crippled unblock origin. Not my problem." Yeah, Firefox, I believe, has uh the ability now to toggle all AI off.

[00:11:58]Uh the old geek says, "This is bad, but bringing up climate as part of the argument is not a productive idea."

[00:12:04]Uh I kind of agree with that. I mean, beyond, you know, ju just the fact that Google is doing this is bad enough, right? But they always got to tie it to the climate. Like, don't don't you care about the trees? As soon as you start tying it to climate stuff, people who normally would be on your side are going to be like, "Oh, there you go." Making it political.

[00:12:25]You know, it's like right up there with like uh Google AI installed on your your uh desktop without your consent, possibly malware. Uh women and gay folks most affected. Soon as you do that, it's like you you're you're just going to chase a bunch of people off. Like you had people you had people that just like Yeah, it's installing without your permission. That is enough for most people, right? Uh this person says, "You lost our credibility when the piece claimed climate costs are even a thing."

[00:12:54]Yeah, exactly. Like you didn't need to make it political. Just just the fact that that Google is installing this on your computer without your consent and it's a 4 GBTE file should be enough for most people, right? And as soon as you start dragging uh politics, climate change, DI stuff into it, whatever, you're going to chase people off who normally would have your back. So, just stop. Um, this person says, "Google be like, who cares about permission? It's a local model. installs 4 gig AI model on Chrome. We request permission before that. Right? Right. No. On Windows, open PowerShell. Here's how you do it. Uh I am not going to attempt to read that. So hopefully you're watching the video version. But you can you can get rid of it. You're just going to have to Google you're going to have to Google how to get rid of Google. Is Google going to let you do that or is going to be like, I can't do that, Dave. I can't tell you how to get rid of my malware. That would be that would be counterproductive. and the investors would be very upset.

[00:13:54]Uh, logically left pissed-off bear.

[00:13:58]So much to unpack here. Says, "I could have sworn there was a law that barred companies from packaging additional programs without telling you first. This is a big deal in the early 2000s when you would install AOL, but they would sneak in McAfee." Yeah, they still do that. Some places like if you go like I remember two cows used to do that, I think. like you'd download software and it's like, "Hey, do you want the Opera browser?" I was like, "No, if I wanted the Opera browser, I would go download the Opera browser, but I'm not I'm not doing that, am I?" Yeah, I would say Mosilla, but then people they've got problems with Mozilla now, too. Uh, now here's the thing. They were going to sell Chrome. I think I talked about this before and it was actually going to go to I think it was Perplexity AI the guy who you know the CEO which we actually promoted them like a year ago but I don't know what the hell happened but the uh CEO was talking about how um you were going to be happy to lose your job to AI but they were the ones who I think if I remember correctly they were the ones who were kind of circling Chrome if they were going to sell Chrome and I'm sure they would have turned it into uh a giant AI orgy on your computer. But so there you go. Yeah.

[00:15:08]Here we go. Everybody's like, "Climate costs. Climate costs, climate cost."

[00:15:12]Yeah. You lose people. Here's, you know, look, nobody gives a about the climate cost. Except for people who give a about the climate cost. The same thing happened with NFTTS, too. It was all like NFTTS are bad because it hurts the environment. as people are tweeting up a storm. It's like, yeah, your Twitter usage is hurting the environment more than the NFTts are at this point, right?

[00:15:34]Just again, people were on your side, just drop it. Uh, this come from the Verge. Chrome's AI features may be hogging 4 gig of your computer storage.

[00:15:43]Okay, so here you can't simply delete the file to get rid of it. If you still have AI features enabled, Chrome may redownload it again. So go settings system and toggle off the ondevice AI option to remove those features and prevent the file from coming back. The fact that you have to dig though is really suspect on device AI. So you have to literally go in and turn it off. So there you go.

[00:16:06]System ondevice AI turn it off. Google does specify that Gemini Nano's exact size may vary, but this information is presented in a lengthy guide for building AI features rather than at the point of enabling them in Chrome. Most people don't read the terms of service at all. Somebody did a graphic novel, an entire graphic novel based on Apple's terms of service for the Apple Store or for the iPhone, and it was insane. The stuff that that you were agreeing to, people are like, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I just want to use it." And that's what they count on.

[00:16:39]So they said, "We've offered Gemini Nano since 2024 as a lightweight ondevice model." A spokesperson told the Verge.

[00:16:46]So they'll talk to the Verge. You're not talking the futurism. It powers important security capabilities like scam detection and developer APIs without sending your data to the cloud.

[00:16:55]Well, this requires some local space on the desktop. The model will automatically uninstall if the device is low on resources. In February, we began rolling out the ability for users to easily turn it off. Well, wait. So, for two years, you couldn't turn it off.

[00:17:09]Once disabled, the model will no longer download or update. More details in our help center article. Nobody's gonna nobody's going to do that.

[00:17:19]This is ridiculous. So, there you go, guys. Uh just just be very careful. You can turn it off, but you got to dig.

[00:17:25]What do you think? Is this the new is this the new normal that they're all going to install a bunch of on your computer that you don't want? Go out to more o.clown. at clownfishtv.com.

[00:17:37]Sign up for more Clownfish TV. Help support the reef and know we will not install any malware on your computer.

[00:17:43]So, we'll talk later.