A single message now generates 20 different summaries and analyses, requiring a rack of GPUs and a diesel generator.
We’re so lucky that electricity is unlimited and free, otherwise it might’ve caused a serious problem.
Gemini will now automatically summarize your long emails unless you opt out
Submitted 1 day ago by Pro@programming.dev to technology@lemmy.world
https://workspaceupdates.googleblog.com/2025/05/gemini-summary-cards-gmail-app.html?m=1
Comments
Maxxie@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 day ago
jjjalljs@ttrpg.network 19 hours ago
Most email is short. I don’t see a need to summarize it. Google is run by idiots and assholes.
iknowitwheniseeit@lemmynsfw.com 43 minutes ago
I put a tl;dr sentence or two at the top of any e-mail more than a couple of paragraphs. Sometimes for those too.
Evotech@lemmy.world 18 hours ago
Ai will write complicated long mails, you’ll need an Ai to summarise it
kazerniel@lemmy.world 18 hours ago
sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works 18 hours ago
If an email needs to be summarized, I’m not going to read it anyway.
funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works 17 hours ago
ive actually used it at work for stuff like “when did Wendy approve the design? did she send it to brian?” when I have 5 different email threads over 3 different organizations, with 10 different respondees. But in personal use I would never.
dinckelman@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Why is it never the other way around? I’m sick of EULA updates silently enrolling me into things i never asked for
Zwuzelmaus@feddit.org 1 day ago
They are asking for legal trouble anyway, at least in Europe
dinckelman@lemmy.world 1 day ago
And we’ll just watch them either get slapped by an insignificant fine, or watch them weasel their way out of this again, by claiming they made you agree to some perpetual abandonment of rights, like they always do
dreugeworst@lemmy.ml 1 day ago
it says you need to hace smart features on for this to work. I went looking for how to turno it off, but aparentoy in the EU, UK, Japan and others it’s off by default
spankmonkey@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Plus the options are frequently hidden and unclear.
I thought disabling One Drive on my Windows machine would keep it from syncing to the cloud. Nope, it just changed where the files were stored but Windows copies it to One Drive even when One Drive isn’t running.
In the case of google, I assume that turning off the Gemini bullshit doesn’t have any impact on it copying all the content to their servers even if you don’t see it happening.
Ulrich@feddit.org 1 day ago
but Windows copies it to One Drive even when One Drive isn’t running.
I don’t understand why users and our justice system let them get away with this. This is malicious. Your operating system is literally literally malware. It does not respect your choices and it steals your information.
dumbpotato@lemmy.cafe 21 hours ago
It’s part of the abuse.
acosmichippo@lemmy.world 1 day ago
ot shove it in people’s faces who would never go out of their way to turn it on.
UnfortunateShort@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Maybe the even more important question: Why can you even opt out? Why is this not done on-device, without anything going anywhere to begin with?
I mean, I know the answer, you know the answer, everyone knows the answer. If this was truly privacy preserving, there would be no need to opt out.
ikidd@lemmy.world 18 hours ago
You go ahead and waste resources on summarizing the 200 emails a day in my spam account, you fucking morons.
cupcakezealot@lemmy.blahaj.zone 15 hours ago
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buy domain
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buy hosting
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get email
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use thunderbird
iknowitwheniseeit@lemmynsfw.com 44 minutes ago
I run my own email and I have to say I wouldn’t recommend it.
The biggest hassle is dealing with either Spamhaus or Microsoft, who apparently at random decide to put my IPs on blacklist, and who provide hurdles to working around this (for Spamhaus) or just say “no” (for Microsoft).
kokomo@lemmy.kokomo.cloud 15 hours ago
Mega brain move right here. Combined with a multitude of open source web mail clients and ur golden. SOGo and roundcube my beloved.
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secret300@lemmy.sdf.org 1 day ago
How the hell can they even afford that?! There are so many Gmail users and so many emails a second and Gemini will summarize them all? That sounds so expensive and like a waste of resources
TotallynotJessica@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 day ago
It is, but the bubble mustn’t burst or the grifters will stop making money selling “the end of skilled labor” to braindead capitalists.
dumbpotato@lemmy.cafe 21 hours ago
Actually, investment in AI is necessary for competing with other nations.
The “end of skilled labor” selling point is just to cover up that fact that we need AI because other nations will have it.
TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Google makes a lot of money, and summarising stuff uses a surprisingly small amount of energy. You can do it trivially on-device on a laptop and on plenty of phones.
When it comes to LLMs, training the models is generally the thing that requires ridiculous amounts of energy.
This is dumb as fuck, though. I don’t want Google’s LLM to miss out critical details in my emails. That shit could be important. If people want this they should opt in.
doodledup@lemmy.world 21 hours ago
They probably use a smaller model for summarizing.
BonesOfTheMoon@lemmy.world 16 hours ago
Cool, how do I disable this shit feature?
donalonzo@lemmy.world 13 hours ago
Stop using the shit service.
Retro_unlimited@lemmy.world 17 hours ago
So this is why I got an email that was completely wrong.
I told a guy I used to work for that I moved and it’s the perfect place to help him and his company.
He replied that he hopes I found a house where I used to live.
wtf it’s like he never read the email at all, now that this AI trash was added, the email makes sense.
I guess he is fucked and doesn’t get the help he needs for his company.
kazerniel@lemmy.world 18 hours ago
Ok this is the first step where I feel an actual urge to look for Gmail alternatives. I’m a desktop-only Gmail user, but I can see where this is going… :/ Also heavy user of Google Drive and Sheets, so it’s going to be annoying if I have to replace all of them :/
6nk06@sh.itjust.works 17 hours ago
For me it was: Gmail to Tuta, Drive to Filen.io (some cheap German guys). But Sheets would be the most difficult. Maybe Zoho or Infomaniak? Infomaniak has the complete package IIRC.
kazerniel@lemmy.world 17 hours ago
thanks, I’ll check them out!
doodledup@lemmy.world 21 hours ago
Why would you use Gmail in the first place?
dumbpotato@lemmy.cafe 21 hours ago
I have been moving away from all of the big name companies for big name products.
It’s a shame, because I used to be very supportive of Google.
kazerniel@lemmy.world 17 hours ago
Do any other email services/clients have a very similar search function? Where I can search for date ranges and email sizes in addition to the more typical operators.
At my workplace I have to deal with Outlook, and it’s a pile of crap in comparison.
doodledup@lemmy.world 2 hours ago
Use Thunderbird as a client with any email service. Thunderbird has all the features you want.
6nk06@sh.itjust.works 17 hours ago
I have a Google account at work with the domain name of the company. The AI is annoying and I wished they used something else.
homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Eat more AI! We’ve spent hundreds of billions of dollars on this fucking garbage, so EAT IT! Yeah! It’s in your email! It’s in your car! IT’S IN YOUR TEETH (launch date: Q2 2026)!
glaber@lemm.ee 1 day ago
You jest, but I’ve already seen “AI-powered” toothbrushes on shelves. Let’s give even more health data to corporate giants!
sic_semper_tyrannis@lemmy.today 1 day ago
More opt outs… Everyone, just opt out of big tech
Jimmycakes@lemmy.world 1 day ago
We should opt into little tech. A guy in Venezuela just trying to buy a couple days food will read your email and summarize it for you!
greatwhitebuffalo41@slrpnk.net 20 hours ago
This made me think of the South Park episode where they’re hiring people to replace the Amazon Alexa and stuff.
OutlierBlue@lemmy.ca 1 day ago
Unless I opt out of Gmail? Yep, already done.
hddsx@lemmy.ca 1 day ago
Meh. I can’t find a good sub for YouTube and Gmail is my “uh oh did I mess up my email server back”.
I’ve been considering hush mail. I don’t like Europe. I’d rather move to Canadian
muusemuuse@lemm.ee 1 day ago
Canada isn’t going to be a safe bet in the long run. They have a reprieve for now but they always end up doing whatever America does just a few years later.
Zaphod@discuss.tchncs.de 1 day ago
That’s ok :) All my important mails go to proton
Natanael@infosec.pub 22 hours ago
The Proton owner is Trump-y. Tuta is another option
Zexks@lemmy.world 21 hours ago
I can’t go changing my email every time a ceo flips a switch and goes crazy. Your all gonna have to find something better than ‘just try this other one’
dumbpotato@lemmy.cafe 21 hours ago
We should also be boycotting businesses that support establishment democrats.
aeternum@lemmy.blahaj.zone 23 hours ago
The only thing I use my Google Account for is my TV. I haven’t logged into my gmail in years.
manxu@piefed.social 1 day ago
It's so weird that we have to go through hoops and loops to get rid of this stuff! I was sick of my Android responding to a long press of the power button, meant to shut it down, with a Gemini prompt. Took me an hour to figure out I can't get rid of the function, but I can switch back (for now) to old style Google Assistant.
If you have to force functionality down your users' throat despite them not wanting it, you already lost. Gemini is Google's Clippy, just less iconic and more also-ran.
Ulrich@feddit.org 1 day ago
If you have to force functionality down your users’ throat despite them not wanting it, you already lost.
As much as I’d like to think so, they’re not stupid, they know what they’re doing. They cram it in your face to make sure you know it’s there. And most people don’t care.
reksas@sopuli.xyz 17 hours ago
Would opting out actually do anything here except keep you from using the feature? Pretty certainly they will still let the ai read your emails if there is any benefit to google in it, but you just wont be seeing the summary.
MDCCCLV@lemmy.ca 16 hours ago
If you read the article, it says this only applies to people that already have premium google office stuff already. The 90% of people with regular gmail accounts aren’t affected by this. For now at least.
Ulrich@feddit.org 1 day ago
In reply to all of the complaints here: I’ve never seen anything about Gemini on my Graphene OS device. 🤷♂️
MonkderVierte@lemmy.ml 1 day ago
But your recipient uses it.
null_dot@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 day ago
Exactly.
Communication with people is hard enough already without an LLM deciding what parts are important.
Idiots using LLMs to write emails to people using LLMs to summarise them. It’s just slop all the way down.
TherapyGary@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 day ago
I’m surprised so many people who probably use Linux use a stock operating system on their phones
zqps@sh.itjust.works 1 day ago
Despite efforts to the contrary, PC is still an inherently far more open platform than any mobile device.
Scolding7300@lemmy.world 1 day ago
End users: To access Gemini summary cards, users need to have smart features and personalization smart features in Gmail, Chat, and Meet and smart features in Google Workspace turned on. Visit the Help Center to learn more about collaborating with Gemini in Gmail.
Sounds like it’s an opt in, what am I missing
atrielienz@lemmy.world 18 hours ago
If you already had smart replies or similar enabled (they were available before Gemini hit the scene) then you have to go opt out.
Scolding7300@lemmy.world 17 hours ago
That makes sense
kazerniel@lemmy.world 17 hours ago
Sounds like it’s an opt in, what am I missing
Because it’s a clear step on the enshittification slide. It’s opt in for now.
biofaust@lemmy.world 1 day ago
And that’s why I set up forwarding from Gmail and Outlook to my new Tuta account.
In a few months I should be free, happily paying for EU alternative were the default swipe gesture stands for delete instead of archive.
MajesticElevator@lemmy.zip 1 day ago
Forwarding in itself doesn’t do shit as they still have your mail
But yea that’s nice I guess
I would also use a mail alias service so you get more privacy and can switch mail host whenever you want
biofaust@lemmy.world 21 hours ago
Both of the services have the option to delete all forwarded messages. This is simply the best first step in order to be able to review what accounts still work with the old addresses (via inbox rules) and slowly change them. I use addy.io for mail aliasing already, but that is not really related to gaining independence from those companies.
cygnus@lemmy.ca 1 day ago
FWIW I use Fastmail and it works great.
lepinkainen@lemmy.world 1 day ago
The only place I’d want AI summaries is rambling YouTube videos
Make it a premium subscription extra
InnerScientist@lemmy.world 1 day ago
in the Gmail app on Android and iOS devices
At least it isn’t my turn yet
CileTheSane@lemmy.ca 1 day ago
How long before people get complaints about something said in the summary which is incorrect?
Sam_Bass@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Consider me opted
nutsack@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 hours ago
FUCK