The duality of language models in the browser (opens in new tab)

I have complex feelings about Generative AI but one area I find myself weirdly bullish on is small language models (SLMs) in the browser which are available in Chrome and Edge behind an experimental flag. I know, I know. I know. AI in the browser reeks of a product manager trying to hit a KPI to shoehorn AI into everything. I understand if you read the phrase “AI in the browser” and involuntarily threw up on your keyboard, said “Fuck this”, and then closed this tab. I will not hold that again...