AI-scapes

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Install AI-scapes on Windows

Tested on Windows 10 and Windows 11 with Google Chrome 120+. The same steps work in Microsoft Edge; just replace chrome://extensions with edge://extensions when prompted.

The short version

  1. Extract the download (right-click → Extract All) to get the ai-scapes-extension folder.
  2. Open Chrome's extensions page and turn on Developer mode (top-right).
  3. Click Load unpacked and select that folder.
  4. Open the card's Details and turn on Allow in Incognito.
  5. Switch to the consent tab that opened, agree, sign in, and click Start study.

New to Chrome extensions? The full walkthrough with screenshots is below.

What you need

1. Unzip the extension

  1. Open File Explorer (Win+E) and go to wherever you saved ai-scapes-extension.zip (usually Downloads).
  2. Right-click the zip and choose Extract All… Pick a stable destination such as C:\Users\<you>\Documents\ai-scapes-extension, then click Extract.
  3. Open the extracted folder and confirm manifest.json is directly inside. If it's one level deeper, use that inner folder for the next step.
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Step 1: File Explorer inside the unzipped folder. Confirm manifest.json is at the top.
Why not double-click? Double-clicking a zip only opens a preview — the files aren't actually extracted, and Chrome can't load an extension from a preview. Always use Extract All.

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 Enter.
  3. Turn on Developer mode using the toggle in the top-right corner.
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Step 2: Developer mode toggle (top-right of chrome://extensions).

3. Load the unpacked extension

  1. Click Load unpacked (top-left of the page).
  2. Select the folder you extracted in step 1 (e.g. C:\Users\<you>\Documents\ai-scapes-extension), then click Select Folder.
  3. The AI-scapes experiment card appears. If a red error about manifest.json shows, you picked the outer folder — go one level deeper and re-select.
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Step 3a: picking the unzipped folder in Chrome's Load-unpacked dialog.
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Step 3b: what the loaded extension card looks like on Windows.

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).
Chrome extension details page with the Allow in Incognito toggle switched on.
The toggle to flip: bottom of the extension's Details page.

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.

Keep Chrome in front. The extension needs Chrome to be the focused app while it scrolls the lists — try not to switch to other apps for the ~2 minutes it runs.
Antivirus / SmartScreen. Some Windows installs flag unsigned developer extensions on first run. The .zip we ship contains the readable files Chrome loads; it isn't signed because Chrome only signs extensions distributed via the Chrome Web Store. If your IT policy blocks unpacked extensions, contact the lab so we can arrange an alternative.

Troubleshooting

"Manifest file is missing or unreadable"

Chrome could not find manifest.json at the top of the folder you selected. Open the folder in File Explorer, look for manifest.json, and re-pick exactly that folder.

"This extension may have been corrupted"

Re-download the zip and extract it again; partial downloads can cause this. If it persists, switch off your antivirus's "scan extensions" feature temporarily.

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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 extracted earlier.

1. Remove the extension from Chrome

  1. Open the extensions page: copy the address below into Chrome's address bar and press Enter.
  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 extracted folder

  1. Open File Explorer (Win+E) and navigate to where you extracted the extension, typically C:\Users\<you>\Documents\ai-scapes-extension.
  2. Right-click the folder and choose Delete (or press Shift+Delete to skip the Recycle Bin).
Already submitted your data and want it deleted? Email e.moroegido@northeastern.edu with the installation identifier shown on your thank-you page, and we'll delete the matching record from the study database.

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