"The "On-device AI" message in Chrome's System settings previously read, "To power features like scam detection, Chrome can use AI models that run directly on your device without sending your data to Google servers. When this is off, these features might not work." But the message changed recently - it lost the phrase "without sending your data to Google servers." That prompted privacy advocate Alexander Hanff to question whether the edit signaled an architectural change that would see local AI interactions processed by Google servers instead of remaining on-device."
"Asked about this, a Google spokesperson said, "This doesn't reflect a change to how we handle on-device AI for Chrome. The data that is passed to the model is processed solely on device." It appears this situation deserves a more genteel rendering of Hanlon's Razor - "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." In this case, it's "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by bad timing.""
"The Chrome menu modification, which isn't universally rolled out yet even in Chrome 148, was noted this week on Reddit. Word of the menu modification surfaced as Chrome was rolling out the Prompt API, which is designed to provide web pages with a programmatic way to interact with a browser-resident AI model. The API's arrival and public discussion o"
Chrome’s System settings previously stated that on-device AI models could power features like scam detection without sending data to Google servers. The wording was later changed, removing the phrase about not sending data to Google servers. The change raised privacy concerns about whether on-device AI interactions might now be processed by Google servers. A privacy advocate questioned whether the earlier wording was inaccurate, whether the architecture changed, or whether legal concerns prompted the removal. Google responded that the change does not reflect any change in handling on-device AI for Chrome and that data passed to the model is processed solely on the device. The timing coincided with Chrome rolling out the Prompt API for browser-resident AI models.
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