Here’s how I finally got Google’s uninvited 4GB AI model off my Mac

My 2020 M1 MacBook Air still runs well, but conserving hard drive space as years of files, media, and software accumulate is a continual challenge. So I was miffed when I read security researcher Alexander Hanff’s May 4 report that Google Chrome has been automatically downloading an over-4GB AI model called Gemini Nano onto everyone’s computer, without asking for consent or providing notification. Chrome is not my main browser (I’m a Firefox diehard), and Gemini is not my main AI (that would be Claude). I’m paying a hefty hard-drive tax for something I don’t use.