Install AI-scapes on macOS or Linux

What you need

• A Mac running macOS 12 (Monterey) or later, or any modern Linux desktop distribution.
• Google Chrome (macOS or Linux): download here if you don't have it. Chromium-based browsers (Chromium, Brave, Edge, Vivaldi) also work as long as they support Manifest V3.
• A Google account you are willing to sign into (the personalized side of the comparison).
• The extension .zip: download it here if you haven't yet.
• About 10–15 minutes.

1. Unzip the extension

1. Open Finder and go to wherever you saved ai-scapes-extension.zip (usually ~/Downloads).
2. Double-click ai-scapes-extension.zip. macOS unzips it into a folder named ai-scapes-extension.
3. Move that folder somewhere stable, e.g. ~/Documents/ai-scapes-extension. Chrome loads it from disk, so don't delete or move it afterward.
4. Open the folder and confirm manifest.json sits at the top level.

2. Open Chrome's extensions page

1. Open Google Chrome.
2. Go to the extensions page. Copy the address below, paste it into Chrome's address bar, and press Return. chrome://extensions Copy Copied ✓
3. Turn on Developer mode using the toggle in the top-right corner.

3. Load the unpacked extension

1. Click Load unpacked (top-left, once Developer mode is on).
2. Select your ai-scapes-extension folder, then click Select (macOS) or Open (Linux).
3. The AI-scapes experiment card appears. If you see a red error banner, you picked the wrong folder — reselect the one containing manifest.json.

4. Allow the extension in Incognito

1. Click Details on the AI-scapes card.
2. Turn on Allow in Incognito (scroll down to find it).

5. Start the study

A consent tab opened automatically when you loaded the extension in step 3. Switch to it and work through three quick screens:

1. Consent page: tick the eligibility box, then click I Agree.
2. Setup page: sign into Google if you aren't already, then click Start Experiment.
3. Experiment page: answer the three-question questionnaire, then click Start study.

The extension opens 18 small Maps windows in two waves (9 signed-in, then 9 incognito). Each auto-scrolls, collects its restaurant list, and closes itself. The run takes about 2–3 minutes.

Troubleshooting

"Failed to load extension" error

You picked a folder that does not contain manifest.json at the top level. Re-select the folder from step 1, typically the one named ai-scapes-extension whose contents include manifest.json, experiment.html, and an icons/ folder.

The Incognito toggle has no effect

Quit Chrome completely (Cmd+Q, not just close the window) and re-open it. The incognito permission is read at startup.

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Uninstalling AI-scapes

You can remove the extension at any time. Uninstalling has two parts: unloading the extension from Chrome, and (optionally) deleting the folder you unzipped earlier.

1. Remove the extension from Chrome

1. Open the extensions page: copy the address below into Chrome's address bar and press Return. chrome://extensions Copy Copied ✓
2. Find the AI-scapes experiment card.
3. Click Remove, then confirm in the dialog that appears.

Chrome immediately stops loading the extension and clears its local storage (the installation identifier, any in-progress questionnaire answers, and unsubmitted study data).

2. Delete the unzipped folder

1. On macOS, open Finder and go to the folder where you unzipped the extension, typically ~/Documents/ai-scapes-extension. On Linux, open your file manager and navigate to the equivalent path (for example ~/.local/share/ai-scapes-extension or wherever you extracted the zip).
2. Move that folder to the Trash (Cmd+Delete on macOS, Delete on most Linux file managers) and empty the Trash. From a Linux shell you can equivalently run rm -rf ~/path/to/ai-scapes-extension.

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