Mozilla Backtracks on Firefox AI Messaging Following User Backlash
The browser will have a dedicated "AI kill switch" to disable all AI-powered features and never show them in the future.
Last week, the Firefox browser developer Mozilla found itself at the epicenter of yet another reputation-damaging controversy, this one involving newly appointed CEO Anthony Enzor-DeMeo singing praises to AI and vowing to turn Firefox into a "modern AI browser."
Following intense user backlash, Firefox developer Jake Archibald issued a separate statement cooling down Enzor-DeMeo's yet-another-corpo-incapable-of-reading-the-room excitement about artificial intelligence, saying that not only would it be possible for browser users to never interact with AI, they would also be able to completely remove anything powered by the controversial tech in just a few clicks.
Jaque Silva/Getty
In an easy-to-miss thread shared on Mastodon of all platforms, Archibald stated that alongside all the AI features promised by the new CEO would also come a dedicated option to completely disable anything and everything AI, dubbed the "AI kill switch" by Firefox devs. "I'm sure it'll ship with a less murderous name, but that's how seriously and absolutely we're taking this," he noted.
Furthermore, Jake clarified that all AI features would be opt-in, stressing that while what "opt-in" means can vary depending on whom you ask, the kill switch carries no ambiguity and will "absolutely remove all that stuff, and never show it in future."
"I'm not asking for faith in our direction – the thing I love about the Firefox community is how open, honest, and technical it is," the developer writes. "But I do ask that you don't have the opposite of faith. Like, try not to be determined that we're going to do the wrong thing here. I hope we can (re)gain your trust here."
Given that the two main criticisms surrounding Firefox's AI push centered on AI features being enabled by default and being, in large part, intrusive, annoying, and utterly useless, Archibald's update – assuming it materializes exactly as described – seemingly addresses both issues, leaving the only real concern being Mozilla's decision to push AI in the first place, a move likely to alienate the "never AI" crowd.
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