RE: mastodon.social/@sarahjamielew…
"AI should always be a choice — something people can easily turn off."
Since this is the flat out opposite of Firefox now—you have to go into unsupported debug settings and click eight boxes based on folklore—and there's no acknowledgement that this comment is a complete 180 on Firefox's current policy of enabling AI in secret then trying to trick you into using it… this statement is not a reassurance to me. It feels dishonest and like a continuation of Firefox's dishonesty about AI, "PPA" etc.
Mozilla has a new CEO. Once again iterating that the future of Firefox is AI first, AI by default:"Firefox will grow from a browser into a broader ecosystem of trusted software"
"It will evolve into a modern AI browser"
"AI should always be a choice — something people can easily turn off."
Source: blog.mozilla.org/en/mozilla/le…
Mozilla’s Next Chapter: Building the World’s Most Trusted Software Company
Today, Anthony Enzor-DeMeo step into the role of CEO of Mozilla Corporation, focusing on becoming the trusted software company.Rebecca Smith (The Mozilla Blog)
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leo vriska
in reply to mcc • • •mcc
in reply to leo vriska • • •1. It is my belief that the AI previews and tab grouping AI are very probably running on your machine and waiting for you to accidentally kick them off, for example by accidentally pressing shift over a link.
2. Do you have "studies" turned on? I believe some of the AI was turned on for random people but not others based on "studies".
leo vriska
in reply to mcc • • •2. yes
mcc
in reply to leo vriska • • •leo vriska
in reply to mcc • • •mcc
in reply to mcc • • •leo vriska
in reply to mcc • • •Julien W.
in reply to mcc • • •About 1., as far as I understand, they all run locally. Is the problem for you that it has "AI" written on it?
@leo
mcc
in reply to Julien W. • • •1. Not true, firefox has integration with multiple cloud providers (perplexity search, chatgpt chat)
2. The fact that AI runs in the cloud is *one problem* with it. There are still the problems of IP theft, the fact the product does not work, the fact the project is overall part of a fascist project. "Local first" AI is like "less cyanide" toothpaste.
3. "AI" is a meaningless phrase, but branding something as "AI" is indeed a good sign you're doing something wrong.
mcc
in reply to mcc • • •Julien W.
in reply to mcc • • •2. I was told that the data used for these features are well-known data.
3. I don't know, it depends who you're talking to. Talking to tech-savyy people, it would probably be good to talk about specific models and things like that, but for the general audience it's another story, I believe.
tef
in reply to leo vriska • • •mcc
in reply to tef • • •tef
in reply to mcc • • •mcc
in reply to tef • • •tef
in reply to mcc • • •mcc
in reply to tef • • •mastodon.social/@mcc/115730255…
mcc
2025-12-16 16:45:49
tef
in reply to mcc • • •tef
in reply to tef • • •mcc
in reply to tef • • •mcc
in reply to mcc • • •One thing I am seriously considering is using Vivaldi. Although it's most likely they've hidden rather than patched out the "AI" features, they're the one browser org I know of to have taken a strong anti-AI stance. The thing keeping me away is last time I tried a Chromium browser on Linux it had platform-specific bugs, so that's gonna be an auditioning thing.
The only real solution is for Servo to reach viability and then switch to that, but that's a slow process.
tef
in reply to mcc • • •mcc
in reply to tef • • •tef
in reply to mcc • • •mcc
in reply to tef • • •tef
in reply to mcc • • •mcc
in reply to tef • • •Eggs now in different baskets.
in reply to mcc • • •Currently the LibreWolf project seems to be focused on disabling among other things the telemetry and AI features that Mozilla keep on stuffing into Firefox.
They appear to be doing an OK job of it although my ability to audit the project is limited by my limited IT skills.
I am also trialing the "de-Googled Chromium" based browser Helium which seems faster than Chromium on the devices I have tried it on and apparently that project is also privacy focused.
pancake
in reply to leo vriska • • •mcc
in reply to pancake • • •Oblomov
in reply to mcc • • •> ecosystem of trusted software
* starts by betraying users with opt-out features nobody wants.
mcc
in reply to mcc • • •reshared this
Jason Lefkowitz is exhausted and Mother Bones reshared this.
Cassandra is only carbon now
in reply to mcc • • •Mother Bones reshared this.
doubledealer
in reply to mcc • • •mcc reshared this.
Roger BW 😷
in reply to mcc • • •mcc reshared this.
Alan Langford 🇨🇦🧤🧊摏
in reply to Roger BW 😷 • • •@RogerBW The fault here is that you assume that you, or in fact the product, are more important than the valuation of the stock. This is not the case. These executive might be fully aware that adding Gen-AI to their product achieves nothing, but they're also aware that if they don't do it, and if their valuation falls behind because of it, their jobs are at risk (along with their options, etc.)
So they go out there and enthuse about AI, knowing full well they'll soon be in a "well we really had high hopes but it didn't turn out that way so oops now no Gen-AI" when the bubble bursts.
mcc
in reply to Alan Langford 🇨🇦🧤🧊摏 • • •Wachoperro
in reply to mcc • • •I'd just like to interject for a moment. What you're refering to as Mozilla Foundation, is in fact, Mozilla Corporation/Foundation, or as I've recently taken to calling it, Mozilla Corporation plus Mozilla Foundation. Mozilla Foundation is not a steward of free software unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning extractivist corporation made useful by the free software core concepts, shell corporations and vital system components comprising a full takeover as defined by capitalism.
Many computer users trust a modified version of the Mozilla Corporation every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of Firefox which is widely used today is often called "Developed by the Mozilla Foundation", and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the AI grifters, bankrolled by the Gen-AI Project.
There really is a Mozilla Foundation, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Mozilla Foundation is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the developers resources to
... show moreI'd just like to interject for a moment. What you're refering to as Mozilla Foundation, is in fact, Mozilla Corporation/Foundation, or as I've recently taken to calling it, Mozilla Corporation plus Mozilla Foundation. Mozilla Foundation is not a steward of free software unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning extractivist corporation made useful by the free software core concepts, shell corporations and vital system components comprising a full takeover as defined by capitalism.
Many computer users trust a modified version of the Mozilla Corporation every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of Firefox which is widely used today is often called "Developed by the Mozilla Foundation", and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the AI grifters, bankrolled by the Gen-AI Project.
There really is a Mozilla Foundation, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Mozilla Foundation is the kernel: the program in the system that allocates the developers resources to the software they develop. The foundation is an essential part of a healthy internet, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete Corporation. Mozilla Foundation is normally used in combination with the Mozilla Corporation: the whole system is basically Mozilla Corporation with Mozilla Foundation added, or Mozilla Corporation/Foundation. All the so-called Mozilla Foundation projects are really distributions of Mozilla Corporation/Foundation!
@alan @RogerBW
margot
in reply to mcc • • •Jeff Cutsinger
in reply to mcc • • •mcc
in reply to Jeff Cutsinger • • •Firefox ESR. Which isn't good enough but at least means I get 1 year between new antifeature dumps to research how to turn off the antifeatures :(
I am considering Vivaldi and desperately looking forward to a web-capable version of Servo.
The Turtle
in reply to mcc • • •oddly, a function they put in there to prevent users in businesses from willy-nilly installing updates without approval is your friend in this! In effect one JSON file in a specific directory makes the system thinks your "admin" has "disabled updates," even if that's you.
It works well on Mac; unsure about Windows or Linux as far as where it goes.
reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/…
mcc
in reply to The Turtle • • •Mother Bones reshared this.
Matteꙮ Italia
in reply to mcc • • •mcc
in reply to Matteꙮ Italia • • •TarXZ
in reply to mcc • • •MarjorieR
in reply to mcc • • •But when I last checked the field for which LLM to use was still blank: I assume they want someone to offer them money for that.
Bit needless to say I do turn everything AI related I'm aware of off.
Nicole Parsons
in reply to mcc • • •AI, a product nearly universally loathed, yet is still being funded at scale.
What happens when the AI bubble bursts?
When the data centers are sold for parts in bankruptcy sales?
Firefox will have rebuilt itself around a service no longer available & gets bricked.
Who jumps on a bandwagon with this level of risk?
mcc
in reply to Nicole Parsons • • •Because Firefox has a focus on "local models", their "AI" solutions will almost certainly keep running if the cloud providers shut down or introduce paywalls.
Unfortunately.
Polina
in reply to mcc • • •mcc
in reply to Polina • • •Polina
in reply to mcc • • •Agreed. Though for EFF coveryourtrack, it produces unique fingerprint where Firefox produces nearly unique (Brave is randomized). With uBlock Origin, LibreWolf produces a nearly-unique fingerprint.
All depending on the IP and other addons enabled of course. Unless my configuration is missing something.
mcc
in reply to Polina • • •