Firefox Community Forum

https://blog.mozilla.org/en/mozilla/leadership/mozillas-next-chapter-anthony-enzor-demeo-new-ceo/

I've been using Firefox for over a decade, but I'm switching to a different platform now. Firefox's CEO, Anthony Enzor-DeMeo, appears to approve of garbage-quality AI summaries and a general lack of a thought process from the users themselves. Sure, he mentions that AI should be a choice, which includes being able to turn it off, but guess what: if I want a choice of AI, then I'd rather choose to turn it on in the first place. I'm not tolerating slop on my browser. I uninstalled it from Windows, and I will sure as hell will rid of it here, too.

Read the room. The general public hasn't been supporting Copilot, so god knows why they'd happily embrace this garbage infesting their Internet browsers, as well. Good bye, and good riddance.

So, as I’m sure everyone has heard by now, the new CEO wants to make Firefox an “AI browser”. As a long time user, I think I speak for a lot of us when I say WE DON’T WANT THIS. In fact, the reason many of us were here is that Firefox was pretty much the last major browser not to give in to using generative AI for everything. I hope the CEO backtracks on this, or Firefox is going to lose a TON of users and money. Let’s go over the facts.

- Generative AI uses an unsustainable amount of energy and water, and AI data centers are responsible for a lot of air pollution. - AI tools are frequently incorrect, and lead to misinformation being spread. - Data is frequently scraped for AI training without user permission, and leaks are very common. This goes completely against Mozilla’s commitment to privacy, which was one of the big reasons I started using Firefox to begin with.

This announcement is very disappointing, and the CEO really needs to reconsider. Keep Firefox secure. Keep “AI” LLMs OUT.

The continued implementation of AI "features" in Mozilla Firefox has made it harder and harder to do what I want! It bloats the browser and makes it harder to find the actual results I'm looking for, it violates people's privacy and fabricates potentially dangerous misinformation. Further implementation of AI will lead me- and many others- to seek alternative browsers. When will you stop spending money on a thing your users don't want?

I am uncomfortable with the push for unnecessary ai content and features on firefox and if they are added without easy ways to remove or disable I will be switching to a different browser

Firefox has been my entire family's browser of choice for as long as I can remember. Which one am I supposed to use now that Firefox won't quit shoving bloatware and diminished performance at me? I'm also seeing articles stating that they plan on making it even worse with more AI. I'm supposed to let them steal my data and turn my browser into sludge with absolutely no benefit to myself? And they're asking me to donate to them on top of it???

Does anyone know of a viable Firefox alternative that isn't a chrome dupe?

I think you should consider launching your new CEO out of a canon, metaphorically speaking.

If people wanted AI slop shoved in their faces, they'd go use a crappy chromium browser, which is where that stuff lives. We use Firefox because we don't want any of that crap in our browsing experience. "As long as you can trust it" - who does this guy think he is? You can't 'trust' AI, it's not a person, it's a tool (implement) used by tools (inept idiot).

You also can't trust corporations that pivot to AI, either. If you want to double down on anything relating to AI, then double down on keeping Firefox AI slop free, and ensuring that you are the browser for those that need refuge from this crap.

I remember when Firefox really was a nonprofit that survived on donations from its users, rather than just another corporate shill for companies and LLMs.

Be better. You disappoint me.

To whoever this new CEO is of firefox,

Stop with the AI garbage. Please.

AI is a notorious waste of space in software and all it does is bog down the experience and make everything harder for everyone. Also it is notorious for collecting information and violating users privacy like the lab rats you apparently take us for.

Stop it.

I loved Firefox because I could use it comfortably without all of this stupid AI crap making my life harder. I've already hacked my browser to make sure this doesn't appear but I'm not satisfied. To any other firefox tech reading this get that Anthony guy out of here. We don't want him, and we don't want AI.

Thank you.

I had switched to Firefox some time ago because of the privacy-invading AI that Google and Microsoft were implementing at the time, and it appeared Mozilla had their consumers' interests in mind when it came to privacy and performance. I suppose even they are willing to shoot themselves in the foot with the market failure that is generative AI, despite the recent reports about Copilot's abysmal sales proving that this maneuver is incredibly short-sighted.

Not only are these AI "features" enabled by default upon updating, the options to disable each of them are all hidden away in the about:config page. On top of that, having these options enabled leads to worse performance overall, and the breach of privacy inherent to these features is quite worrisome as well.

The best step now is to remove these features completely. If Mozilla won't remove them, they should at least have them disabled by default, making them opt-in as opposed to the opt-out situation currently in place. Perhaps they could be listed as proper options somewhere in about:preferences so that people don't have to comb through the about:config list?

I know I would appreciate not having to switch browsers again, and I'm sure plenty of users would like to have their privacy respected as well. We don't want to see this browser become as terrible to use as other big-name brands. If Mozilla keep pushing these invasive features, we will find something else to use.

I know some underpayed tech or a volunteer who's not getting paid at all is going to read this and not the CEO but my hope is I'm not only one complaining and that if enough people complain your new CEO will realize that the reason most people who use Firefox do is because it's the browser that respects their privacy and security the most. Adding "AI" slop into it will only contribute to bloat and privacy loss, and a lot of people will likely move on to another browser thats faster, more reliable, and less insecure. Don't try to compete with Chrome by becoming Chrome please.

Not sure where to even send this so I'm just putting it here. If you make Firefox an "AI-browser", I and many others are going to delete. This is ridiculous. This is the one browser that's supposed to be safe from that kind of thing. Get rid of it. We can get AI:s literally anywhere else and we don't want it.

Thank you.

Good Evening,

I switched to Firefox as my primary browser from Chrome due to Chrome's instance on forcing unnecessary and intrusive AI features onto the platform, and their revoking support for ad blockers.

Anthony Enzor-DeMeo's quote from his recent blog post announcing that Firefox "will evolve into a modern AI browser" is a huge red flag for me. I do not care how much he may promise the features will be "something people can easily turn off", I do not trust it will remain that way. Mozilla will have a bad quarter and suddenly those won't be optional features anymore. I have seen it happen with other tech companies and it's infuriating that Mozilla seems to be merrily skipping down the same path.

In addition to the AI bloat Mozilla seems to insisting they need, Enzor-DeMeo recently said that "He could begin to block ad blockers in Firefox and estimates that'd bring in another $150 million, but he doesn't want to do that." To even joke about that is an astounding misstep. I specifically joined Firefox to be able to use an ad blockers.

I've enjoyed my time with Firefox and have recommended it to friends in the past, but I have changed browsers before. If Firefox continues to forge ahead with these frankly absurd changes, I will have to do so again.

https://blog.mozilla.org/en/mozilla/leadership/mozillas-next-chapter-anthony-enzor-demeo-new-ceo/

https://www.theverge.com/tech/845216/mozilla-ceo-anthony-enzor-demeo

I switched to firefox because I was annoyed at the integration of ai into my previous browser. If the new CEO of firefox fulfills his plans to add more ai into firefox, I will switch browsers again. The integration of ai is completely unnecessary, the vast majority of users will not use the features at all or will leave firefox as I plan to. Firefox has always stood apart by protecting the data privacy of those who use it and integrating ai will ruin that.

I strongly disagree with the proposed AI-centric direction for Firefox. I already disable any current AI features in this browser and disagree with them being there at all. I am firmly anti-AI in the form/use that is most prevalent. I don't want an AI chatbot or AI summaries. AI is not a replacement for human thought. It cannot perceive. It cannot understand. It cannot communicate. Even if it produces a convincing enough mimicry of those things to convince some people that it is capable of doing those things. It's like that IBM training slide from 1979 that says "A computer can never be held accountable, therefore a computer must never make a management decision." Firefox's blog entry about these proposed updates is full of nothing but glittering generalities, just buzz-phrases like "you're in control" and "a better browser" and "trusted companion." AI is not a trusted companion. AI is hyper-advanced autocorrect. And with AI's harshness on the environment (requires astronomical and unsustainable amounts of water) and on the browser itself (slows it down considerably and makes it more vulnerable to security breaches like prompt injection attacks), I just don't think "everybody else is doing AI" is a valid reason to override the main reason most Firefox users use it (because of its lack of AI features and focus on privacy). I'm a long-time user of Firefox and I have really enjoyed it, but one of the biggest issues I have had with it in the last few years is disabling all the AI garbage features that keep getting sneaked in. If AI use or AI-driven features become a substantial part of Firefox, I won't be using it anymore.

I recently heard about Mozilla's potential future plans to increase the browser's AI features, and wanted to voice my concerns about this.

I avoid using AI due to environmental, privacy, and ethical reasons, and one of my main motivations for choosing Firefox over another browser is specifically because of the option to turn AI features off. (And I believe this is the case for a large portion of the userbase.)

If Mozilla opts to push for more AI implementation within Firefox, I will switch to another browser.