Google is so sneaky. This prompt inside Gmail gives you three options. The two most visible options (number 1 is 'Try it now' and number 2 is 'Continue') basically mean 'Enable Gemini AI to write emails.' The third option cancels it which is hidden well. Google, you could do better than this. This is a perfect example of a dark pattern. For those who want AI to write basic emails can enable it but there is not need to do this kind of "shady" stuff.
@nixCraft I've gradually pushed Google further out of my life. (I realize it's more difficult when collaborating with others.)
I killed Gmail, switched to DuckDuckGo, started running GrapheneOS, and navigate using OrganicMaps (or my standalone Garmin) when traveling. I'm still partially dependent on the Google Play store for paid apps, but I give them a lot less free data than I used to.
@analogfusion @nixCraft If you can, it is so much better to just get away from services that shove AI down your throat.
Gmail shoves AI down my throat, but I only keep a Gmail account for when I need it. But it's not what I primarily use, so I don't have to deal with it that often.
"Google" -- spot the error.
@nixCraft My takeaway from this is not so much the use of dark patterns - which is becoming pervasive - it's that AI-related goop has to be force-fed to people to get an uplift on engagement.
It could well be that the AI industrial complex has spent a trillion dollars creating a product that no one really wants so they're hoping that ramming it down our throats will make a difference.
@rustickode @nixCraft @thunderbird
I'm surprised they haven't cut off IMAP access by now
@Jonly @nixCraft I would absolutely fall for this
Two buttons with different color schemes, one of them being obvious? The last few years trained me into thinking that one of these buttons will do what I want and the other won’t, and I’ll probably click the quiet one
But the gist of it is, that screen will scream two buttons with opposite effect and the little cross will not be on the table
@nixCraft Ehm, there is a need to do this. And that need is inflating your numbers so you're able to tell your shareholders that your users like Gemini AI.
Now they're able to claim everyone that hit either "Continue" or "Try it now" as an active user of Gemini AI...
@nixCraft Glad I've long since gotten used to looking for that little X; sometimes even hitting Escape doesn't do it...
- and also that I'm effectively off Google (still have a Gmail but it's dormant, until I'm sure I've replaced all the Google logins, at which point it can f*ck off and die).
@nixCraft "We are not evil." Do you remember that time?
@nixCraft
Are you sure that option 3 turns off the AI?
Not trying to be facetious (well, maaaaaybe a little), yet do we trust Google to treat “no” as a “no”, having a rapist mentality about our data?
A month ago, Gmail offered Gemini to me on my corporate account. I decided to try it. It was total garbage. I decided to disable it. Didn't found the option. A search explained why: there is no way to disable it once it has been enabled.
Gemini is the new Google+.
I have no doubt that some people will find Gemini in Gmail useful, as some people liked Google+.
And who knows? Maybe some update makes it really useful some day.
The point is users should be able to decide if they want to keep it or not. They shouldn't be conned or coerced to do so.
That's the real reason most of people really hated Google+. Whatever the service is, nobody likes being forced to it.
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