Hi Firefox community,
I’m not your usual tech influencer or a corporate “enthusiast”—I’m just a longtime open source user who’s spent more than a few years behind the ve… (read more)
Hi Firefox community,
I’m not your usual tech influencer or a corporate “enthusiast”—I’m just a longtime open source user who’s spent more than a few years behind the veiled curtain, watching how this world of software and possibility unfolds. I love what Mozilla does for users like me. That’s exactly why I want to raise something: I keep seeing the word “chatbot” show up for Firefox’s new AI-powered assistants (like the sidebar and what’s coming next). But let’s be honest—“chatbot” belongs to the days of robotic customer service and scripted dead-ends.
What we have now in Firefox—powered by real LLMs (Large Language Models)—is a whole different species. Calling these assistants “chatbots” just doesn’t fit. It sells short what LLM-based assistants can do: they’re powerful, context-aware, and, at times, strikingly human in their conversation. New users might miss the true magic if we stick to old language. So why not call them “AI assistants,” “LLM-powered assistants,” or just “AI” instead? It would help everyone see the progress, and show how Mozilla’s still leading, not just catching up.
I’ll leave it open for discussion, but I hope others feel this shift too. Language shapes how we see these things—and sometimes it takes a Singular Fella (or maybe two) to nudge the world past old memes. Thanks for hearing me out, and here’s to a future where our assistants, and our words, keep getting smarter.
—Robert Beck