In that all that happened is that Firefox is considering adding optional opt-in features that use AI, and people are acting like they’ve just declared they’re cancelling the entire app and replacing it with some imagined AI slop
These features are unwanted by many, keep increasing, and the methods used to turn each individual piece off keep changing, growing, and moving, and that’s JUST on the user level.
It’s at least an order of magnitude worse to have to pull the unwanted stuff back out if you’re forking Firefox.
Frankly, people are assuming a lot from just the words “AI browser”, which could mean a browser that is all AI, sure, but could equally be a browser that, say, just uses AI to generate missing alt-text.
I think there’s a lot of people who just object to the concept of AI generally - a valid stance - who then assume that anything that uses it must be trying to take away their options to not use it. Which is a valid complaint if that actually happens, but I see no real evidence that is happening here.
In fact, those who actually read the blog post they’re panicking over would see that right before saying that in the blog post, he explicitly says:
AI should always be a choice — something people can easily turn off.
AI features are already in Firefox, and you can’t disable them in the regular settings, only in about:config which requires websearch. Also, AI translation is already mandatory in the Firefox online documentation, which the localization teams were very unhappy about.
In that all that happened is that Firefox is considering adding optional opt-in features that use AI, and people are acting like they’ve just declared they’re cancelling the entire app and replacing it with some imagined AI slop
These features are unwanted by many, keep increasing, and the methods used to turn each individual piece off keep changing, growing, and moving, and that’s JUST on the user level.
It’s at least an order of magnitude worse to have to pull the unwanted stuff back out if you’re forking Firefox.
Mozilla could make this straightforward and easy.
They are specifically NOT doing that ON PURPOSE.
Why do you suppose that is?
their announcement or whatever literally said opt out, not opt in
Fair correction
Maybe because we’ve lived through countless ‘its optional’ changes that stop being optional pretty damned quick.
Their new CEO is wanting far far more than some opt-in options, did you buy see the announcement that it’s becoming an AI browser.
That doesn’t mean optional. That means they want it to be the whole point
Frankly, people are assuming a lot from just the words “AI browser”, which could mean a browser that is all AI, sure, but could equally be a browser that, say, just uses AI to generate missing alt-text.
I think there’s a lot of people who just object to the concept of AI generally - a valid stance - who then assume that anything that uses it must be trying to take away their options to not use it. Which is a valid complaint if that actually happens, but I see no real evidence that is happening here.
In fact, those who actually read the blog post they’re panicking over would see that right before saying that in the blog post, he explicitly says:
Sounds pretty optional to me
Again, for now, seems like the CEO is gung-ho to go all-in on this shit
What makes it “seem” that is the case?
Their words and actions
AI features are already in Firefox, and you can’t disable them in the regular settings, only in about:config which requires websearch. Also, AI translation is already mandatory in the Firefox online documentation, which the localization teams were very unhappy about.