back to article Google reportedly developing an AI agent that can control your browser

Google is reportedly looking to sidestep the complexity of AI-driven automation by letting its multimodal large language models (LLMs) take control of your browser. According to a recent report published by The Information, citing several unnamed sources, "Project Jarvis" could be available in preview as early as December and …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "letting LLMs leverage existing software"

    WTF is wrong with "use"?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Only has one syllable...

    2. Jedit Silver badge
      Headmaster

      "WTF is wrong with "use"?"

      Using software is to put it to its intended purpose. Leveraging is to put it to your purpose.

      In the case of legitimate software use this is generally the same thing; when I use Microsoft Excel to make a spreadsheet, I am using it for its intended purpose and it is also my purpose to do so. But if Microsoft start using Microsoft Excel to gather data on what I'm making spreadsheets of, I would be using Excel to make the spreadsheet and they would be leveraging it to harvest data.

      1. Andrew Scott Bronze badge

        Re: "WTF is wrong with "use"?"

        leverage implies you don't know what you're doing, that you're a little stupid. use says you know what you want to do and what tool will work for the purpose.

    3. CowHorseFrog Silver badge

      Its not on the list of cool words that all the bullshitters have tattooed to their inner arm along with other cool words like "community".

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Chrome uninstalled. Simples.

    1. Simplicity is good

      No. I am not allowed to uninstall Chrome in my mobile phones.

  3. iam_sysop

    In the end, AI kills everyone... Every time.

    Soooo let me get this straight --

    Going to the chat-bots for your script code to run automated attacks using the browser was just too much.

    Now, the browser will just do it for you in real-time and delete the middleman...

    Human greed and laziness (the whole heart of AI) will be the end of us all.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: In the end, AI kills everyone... Every time.

      Worked wonders in its maiden pilot test, in Moscow! (or so I hear ...)

  4. TheMaskedMan Silver badge

    Hmm, letting the bugger trundle off and do research might be useful, particularly in fields like osint, where you might need to cross reference loads of sources.

    But letting it buy things? No. Well, maybe, if it had access to a separate account with strictly limited funds. But with my primary current account? Not bloody likely! I could see the thing reading some fad diet site and spending every last penny on salads and similarly unhealthy stuff, and me with no remaining cash to buy bacon or pizza. Nightmare.

    Since Google already have a somewhat popular browser, I guess it makes sense to leverage... Erm, use that, as long as we can turn it off. We likely won't be able to, though:(

    1. O'Reg Inalsin

      I imagine AI will tie you to your chair, gagged, while the it drains your accounts on internet purchases (triggering commissions) and clicks ads all day long.

    2. cyberdemon Silver badge
      Big Brother

      Hmm, letting the bugger trundle off and do research might be useful,

      Not in an age where you can be made an un-person for "researching" certain topics..

      "It wasn't me who clicked on the [insert banned thing here], it was the AI"...

  5. xyz123 Silver badge

    Since Google AI is basically a piece of shit. (it literally claims I'm looking for porn when I ask for egg recipes, ways to prepare sandwiches etc) I can only presume this "AI browser" will repeatedly order dildos butt plugs and fleshlights whenever I even start to type anything

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Hmmm, eggs, sandwiches ... and tossed salads!

    2. Androgynous Cupboard Silver badge

      I think you’re right. Every time I visit YouTube the recommendations usually involve at least one girl with an abundance of cleavage doing something unrelated to whatever topic got me there. Google has clearly decided sex sells,

      1. Bebu
        Coat

        "at least one girl with an abundance of cleavage doing something unrelated"

        Perhaps better than searching for "reverse cow girl" then getting Stoney Burke and fully clad women in a rodeo clown act.

        Google is really only channeling a long history of tabloid page 3 girls.

        Puzzling in as much as probably marginally more females use google than males to locate information but then women did read tabloid newspapers too.

        Pretty obvious what goes through (what passes for) the male brain when presented with an image of an attractive, scantily attired woman but it is beyond me how the female brain processes such images given their prevalence.*

        One of life's remaining mysterious I suppose.

        * images not female brains.

    3. Bebu
      Coat

      Potentially a bit deeper.

      looking for porn when I ask for egg recipes,

      When you a step back (well... a good few steps) and think what pron is - in a way, a parody of and how "eggs" come into the whole activity you might see a how a poor naive large language model might be confused.

      Just don't ask how to bake a bun in the oven - you will have thermometers, elements of candy making (thread stage), a diary and graph paper. :)

    4. Andrew Scott Bronze badge

      google ai

      not completely sure about that. when my brother recently said "alexa, how do you spell 'hor d'oeuvre." alexa replied "orders, o r d e r s". when he asked google he got the correct answer. no one had an iphone to check with siri.

      1. Bebu
        Coat

        Re: google ai

        "alexa, how do you spell 'hor d'oeuvre."

        Next time try "horse's doovers." ;)

        Of course Alexa did get it right: o-r-d-e-r-s is how she spells it.

        Perhaps "Alexa, how is the French culinary phrase 'hors d'œuvre' spelt when used in English instead of appetizer?"

        Although talking to machines is the thin end of the wedge and then you are on the slippery slope to skating on thin ice.

    5. M.V. Lipvig Silver badge

      Why would it spend your money on stuff that must then be delivered when it can just click on ads for things where nothing needs to be delivered, like subscriptions the AI software at a thousand a minute for access? Sorry sir, no refunds for rendered services you approved the purchase of by plugging your computer in this morning.

    6. CowHorseFrog Silver badge

      Given AI learns from the data it reads, how is it possible that egg recipes are linked to porn surpasses all other connections ?

  6. jake Silver badge

    It might control YOUR browser ...

    ... but it certainly will not control MINE.

    Have I told the goo-kids to fuck off recently? No? OK, then ... FUCK OFF, goo-kids! We don't need or want your shit.

  7. Dan 55 Silver badge
    Devil

    Click fraud?

    When anyone else does it, it's bad.

    When Google AI clicks on Google ads generated by Google search results in your Google browser to buy something, it's good.

    1. DS999 Silver badge

      Re: Click fraud?

      Doesn't need to buy something, just click on the ads. More money for Google from those advertisers, and if it doing this click fraud silently while you're sleeping you'll never find out.

      Google doesn't even have to be evil to make that happen, just program the AI to first "do what the user wants" and second "do what is best for Google". When the user doesn't want anything it is left to its own devices to figure out what is best for Google!

  8. chivo243 Silver badge
    Holmes

    Jarvis?

    Sounds like Jevex. One of James P. Hogan's thinking machines. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/849486.Entoverse

  9. IGotOut Silver badge

    This ladies and gentlemen

    ....is why Google should be split of from Chrome and Android.

    1. DS999 Silver badge

      Re: This ladies and gentlemen

      Exhibit #435

  10. Paul Hovnanian Silver badge
    Angel

    Son!

    That browser history. I am ashamed!

    But dad. That was the AI. Honest!

  11. Blackjack Silver badge
    Happy

    Give an AI direct control over your money, nothing will go wrong!

    1. CowHorseFrog Silver badge

      Maybe google should give AI control over google bank accounts...

      Im pretty sure by the end of the week Google will own half the world.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        They should do a trial run first, giving the AI control over Google's bank accounts.

  12. Kevin McMurtrie Silver badge
    Mushroom

    Great, another free buggy Google app

    If there's one thing you can count on in a new Google app, it's serious exploits. Criminals will exploit it to send spam, steal bank accounts, and hijack computers. Kids will ask it to do something illegal on a parent's computer. Drunks will accidentally buy a $60000 vacation when they were just dreaming of what it would be like. And Google will "accidentally" collect far more personal information than they claim they do.

  13. Phil Kingston

    Where did I put my sabots?

  14. Groo The Wanderer

    As long as I can leave it 100% disabled, dysfunctional, and hopefully completely removed from my "user experience."

    Otherwise it is time to change browsers.

    Screw this "AI" LLM nonsense to hell. It is NOT intelligent in the least, and I will not allow it to screw up my work, my systems, or my personal life to satisfy the dreams of some marketing "geniuses" without enough neurons to form a connection!

    1. M.V. Lipvig Silver badge

      Oh, come now, you know better than that You can turn it off but it will continue to run in the background. And just in case you accidentally turn it off a dozen times, the watchdog timer will restart it after 5 minutes - for your convenience!

      1. Groo The Wanderer

        In which case it gets removed and replaced. After 30-40 years of working with computers, I have a fair idea of how to monitor background system processes... ;)

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    ... allow the model to harness a web browser to "gather research ...

    What could possibly go wrong?

  16. Chairman of the Bored

    Dark patterns!

    We have dark patterns to make the human click what they shouldn't

    Now we will have adversarial patterns to get the AI to click what they never should.

    "Mom, why is there a box of handguns with their serial numbers filed off sitting on our porch?"

    1. Bebu
      Unhappy

      Re: Dark patterns!

      "Mom, why is there a box of handguns with their serial numbers filed off sitting on our porch?"

      "Your father and some of our neighbours are going to have a friendly chat with that Mr Google later tonight."

      (If only! But they are more likely off to the Capitol (v2.) Or they screw up and off Mr Magoo.)

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Dark patterns!

        You do realize that the whole January 6 thing was a made-for-TV liberal drama, right? If there actually had been a right wing takeover of the Capitol, the new government would still be running the show.

        1. collinsl Silver badge

          Re: Dark patterns!

          Only because it failed. Otherwise they would be running the government.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Who's responsible when it does something you didn't ask it to?

    I assume the T&Cs will absolve Google of all responsibility and put everything on you, the end user. Even if the AI does something you explicitly told it not to.

    1. M.V. Lipvig Silver badge

      Re: Who's responsible when it does something you didn't ask it to?

      Case law has already dealt with that - the AI owner is responsible. In this case, the Googler.

  18. Rafael #872397
    Terminator

    The Register reached out to Google for comment, but had not heard back at the time of publication.

    Someone should check their headquarters, maybe something there is keeping them from replying?

  19. Neil Barnes Silver badge
    Terminator

    sufficient guardrails

    I assume not allowing any software which includes this idiocy on to any of my computers is sufficient?

  20. Wang Cores

    AI can help bring world peace!

    Gotta love how touting an "AI helper", without fail, has the exact same effect on all vaguely intelligent life as if you squeezed off an SBD in a packed elevator and let the doors close as you flee.

    Thus, my plan to bring world peace utlizing AI:

    1. Ban AI

    2. Dispossess all lawyers

    3. ???

    4. World peace

  21. ecofeco Silver badge
    FAIL

    Google?

    The Google whose search engine has become almost useless?

    THAT Google?

    This is a joke, right?

  22. CowHorseFrog Silver badge

    Isnt this malware by any other name ?

  23. CowHorseFrog Silver badge

    If someone does this to a single person the police go pick them up, if a corporation tries to do it to everyone, how come the police dont go and pick the people who take all the credit in the next shaareholders report ?

  24. HarryBl

    When is Google going to develop a search engine that simply searches what you ask it for?

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