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.
Unfortunately it is not so simple. Microsoft Windows uses Copilot inside the system. Google Chrome uses Gemini models. Even the duckduckgo uses an optional AI. Nowadays any computer touches the internet touches AI systems directly or indirectly.
Use as much as possible the local software instead of cloud-based softwares
F*** the big tech companies. Use Linux, use librewolf or brave or any suitable browser instead of Chrome and Mozilla.
Use firewall all over your system.
Use DNS filtering
Use custom roms In your android
Fuck Google search. Use another search engine.
Use Neovim or VSCodium instead of motherfucker VSCode
Use self hosted cloud services
You cannot avoid 100%, but you can decrease the collateral damage in this way.
Not simple but worth the effort IMO. Totally agree with your list, use FOSS when possible, Adguard Home makes for great DNS filtering, I’ve been a fan of Kagi for search, gotta pay a little but get a ton of control over your search engine.
If someone is comfortable with computers I highly recommend looking into a VPS, you can get one cheaper then cloud services and use tools like Yunohost to make getting started self hosting not hard.
Unfortunately it is not so simple. Microsoft Windows uses Copilot inside the system. Google Chrome uses Gemini models. Even the duckduckgo uses an optional AI. Nowadays any computer touches the internet touches AI systems directly or indirectly.
You cannot avoid 100%, but you can decrease the collateral damage in this way.
Not simple but worth the effort IMO. Totally agree with your list, use FOSS when possible, Adguard Home makes for great DNS filtering, I’ve been a fan of Kagi for search, gotta pay a little but get a ton of control over your search engine.
If someone is comfortable with computers I highly recommend looking into a VPS, you can get one cheaper then cloud services and use tools like Yunohost to make getting started self hosting not hard.