Firefox Will Ship with an "AI Kill Switch" to Completely Disable all AI Features - 9to5Linux

Submitted ⁨⁨21⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨ekZepp@lemmy.world⁩ to ⁨technology@lemmy.world⁩

https://9to5linux.com/firefox-will-ship-with-an-ai-kill-switch-to-completely-disable-all-ai-features

Share this article: Firefox AI Kill Switch

After the controversial news shared earlier this week by Mozilla’s new CEO that Firefox will evolve into “a modern AI browser,” the company now revealed it is working on an AI kill switch for the open-source web browser.

On Tuesday, Anthony Enzor-DeMeo was named the new CEO of Mozilla Corporation, the company behind the beloved Firefox web browser used by almost all GNU/Linux distributions as the default browser.

In his message as new CEO, Anthony Enzor-DeMeo stated that Firefox will grow from a browser into a broader ecosystem of trusted software while remaining the company’s anchor, and that Firefox will evolve into a modern AI browser and support a portfolio of new and trusted software additions.

What was not made clear is that Firefox will also ship with an AI kill switch that will let users completely disable all the AI features that are included in Firefox. Mozilla shared this important update earlier today to make it clear to everyone that Firefox will still be a trusted web browser.

“Something that hasn’t been made clear: Firefox will have an option to completely disable all AI features. We’ve been calling it the AI kill switch internally. I’m sure it’ll ship with a less murderous name, but that’s how seriously and absolutely we’re taking this,” said Firefox developer Jake Archibald on Mastodon.

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Jhex@lemmy.world ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
clearly some damage control strategy here… but good news if true

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- Grabthar@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  The news of being able to use or disable all of the AI features was in the original announcement as well, but it was pretty clear that most of Lemmy just read the headline and leaned into it.
  
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  - Jhex@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    not quite like this… the original form was not a total kill switch, it was a vague “you are in control” (of this thing you didn’t ask for but we are activating for you by default)
    
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- douglasg14b@lemmy.world ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Firefox just can’t win with their users.
  
  Mozilla makes decisions based on market data
  
  Users complain they never wanted those features
  
  Mozilla makes a decision based on user feedback
  
  Users shit on them for backpedaling or damage control
  
  It’s absurd.
  
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  - fluxx@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    No, it’s not. 1. Nobody wanted AI as a feature. 2. They didn’t even completely backpedal, that would be not implementing AI. This sounds like it will be opt out maybe. They may remove it if they feel like it.
    
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  - Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨11⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    In my books that comment was far from complainong about damage control.
    Just a objective observation.
    
    OP said that they are happy if true.
    
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  - Jhex@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    pointing something out is not shitting on them
    
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  - deathbird@mander.xyz ⁨11⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    What have they decided based on market data?
    
    I think in this particular case at least Mozilla decided to introduce something that their users didn’t want without asking, and our backpedaling and are being mocked for having done the thing in the first place.
    
    Frankly I don’t know what’s going on in their collective brains. What Firefox needs more than anything else is refinement. There are no features that it’s missing as far as I can think of.
    
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- TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  This has been part of the news since the very beginning.
  
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  - Jhex@lemmy.world ⁨4⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    not quite like this… the original form was not a total kill switch, it was a vague “you are in control” (of this thing you didn’t ask for but we are activating for you by default)
    
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Jankatarch@lemmy.world ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
The trust was lost when they said nonsense like “AI first browser” as of that means anything concrete.

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tryagain@lemmy.ml ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Too late - they already lost me.

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justOnePersistentKbinPlease@fedia.io ⁨20⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Thats nice mozilla.

Installed and set up Librewolf yesterday. Absolutely recommend to everyone.

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- pinball_wizard@lemmy.zip ⁨19⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Yes. LibreWolf ships correctly configured, no switches needed.
  
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- Vex_Detrause@lemmy.ca ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Some websites doesn’t work with librewolf like Onshape.com . Is there an easy solution for website like those?
  
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  - DoctorPress@lemmy.zip ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Weaken some fingerprint protections like canvas, of course at cost of some privacy.
    
    Or you can try forks that have less aggresive protection so breaks less like waterfox.
    
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  - nickhammes@lemmy.world ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Have you tried a user agent switcher?
    
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GunnarGrop@lemmy.ml ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
IDK guys, do you think a web browser should be a “broader ecosystem of trusted software” or a web browser?

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- deathbird@mander.xyz ⁨11⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  I wouldn’t mind a web browser being part of a broader because system of trusted software, but shoving an AI chatbot into my web browser does not make me trust it more.
  
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- Noja@sopuli.xyz ⁨13⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  I like the accessibility features like offline page translation
  
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flamingo_pinyata@sopuli.xyz ⁨21⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
In their defense, Mozilla doesn’t have their own source of income, they heavily depend on search sponsorships. Jumping onto the AI train is one way to keep afloat for now

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- rumschlumpel@feddit.org ⁨21⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  How does AI actually improve their financial position? Who pays for them to use AI?
  
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  - flamingo_pinyata@sopuli.xyz ⁨20⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Probably whoever becomes the default provider for this new function. Like Google pays to be the default search provider.
    
    The technical information is scarce but I very much doubt Mozilla is going to train and deploy their own model. It’s more likely you will get a free tier access to one of the popular commercial offerings - Gemini, ChatGPT, Anthropic … whoever pays for it.
    
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  - AmbitiousProcess@piefed.social ⁨20⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Nobody. That’s the answer. Absolutely nobody does. They’re doing this shit of their free will.
    
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  - ricecake@sh.itjust.works ⁨19⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Right now browser usage patterns are shifting because people are trying new things. Most of those new things are AI integration. If those new things prove popular or have staying power remains to be seen.
    Firefox , in my estimation, is looking to leverage their existing reputation for privacy focus while also adding new technologies that people seem at least interested in trying.
    A larger user base means that people will pay more for ads, which if they maintain their user control and privacy standards users are less likely to disable on the default landing screen.
    
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    It’s why they keep getting flac for working on privacy preserving advertising technology: they want you to use Firefox because they don’t stop you from disabling the bullshit, and they hope to do the bullshit in a way that makes you not mind leaving it on.
    
    All the AI stuff was mentioned in the same context as discussion about how they need to seek money in ways that aren’t simply being paid by Google.
    
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cmnybo@discuss.tchncs.de ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Firefox has had one hidden away in about:config since they started adding AI. Are they going to put it in the settings page now?

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friend_of_satan@lemmy.world ⁨19⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Too late. I switched to librewolf.

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- ekZepp@lemmy.world ⁨19⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Firefox is been my second/third choose for years.
  
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  - friend_of_satan@lemmy.world ⁨18⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Same. No longer.
    
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- Vex_Detrause@lemmy.ca ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Some websites doesn’t work with librewolf like Onshape.com . Is there an easy solution for website like those?
  
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  - kilgore_trout@feddit.it ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Use Firefox.
    
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  - explodicle@sh.itjust.works ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    User agent switchers?
    
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pirate2377@lemmy.zip ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
You can also disable ai via toggling browser.ml.enable to false on about:config. For now at least…

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- 2910000@lemmy.world ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  For the record a quick web search for how to disable AI in firefox gave me this list of items to set to false in about:config :
  
  browser.ml.enable browser.ml.chat.enabled browser.ml.chat.sidebar browser.ml.chat.shortcuts browser.ml.chat.page.footerBadge browser.ml.chat.page.menuBadge browser.ml.linkPreview.enabled browser.tabs.groups.smart.enabled extensions.ml.enabled
  
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  - WhyJiffie@sh.itjust.works ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    I don’t think you need to set all to false, all except the first look like granular settings
    
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- tea@lemmy.today ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  What is it actively doing now with AI? There is the ai sidebar, but if you don’t use that it isn’t used, right?
  
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  - finitebanjo@lemmy.world ⁨13⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    I think the biggest issue people have with it is if you can’t trust a company not to shill AI then you also can’t trust them not to train it on you.
    
    It’s just a bottom line trust issue, regardless of actual features or capability.
    
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  - TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Alt-text generation for screen readers (amazing feature)
    
    Private, offline translation (amazing feature)
    
    Chatbot sidebar (I have very little use for it, but some may like it)
    
    All of these are opt-in.
    
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  - meejle@lemmy.world ⁨13⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    There’s the slow-and-not-very-capable link preview thing… and I could’ve sworn the “what’s new” thing the other day said they were adding an on-device model to improve search results or something, but I can’t find the reference to it now.
    
    Maybe they removed it after all the AI backlash. 😬
    
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  - xor@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    I think there’s some alt-text generation for websites that don’t have proper accessibility, though not certain if it’s released yet
    
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fodor@lemmy.zip ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Firefox is no longer trusted. Fuck that AI bullshit. We don’t want it, we don’t need it, and they don’t care.

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billwashere@lemmy.world ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Too late. He’s already shown his true colors.

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- ekZepp@lemmy.world ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Everyone has. At least they are small enough to be wary of their user base.
  
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FireWire400@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Already ahead of ya, about:config is a great thing

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teft@piefed.social ⁨20⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
They must’ve noticed people fleeing in droves to librewolf or floorp.

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- Typhoon@lemmy.ca ⁨18⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  And they wanted to accelerate it?
  
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- SlurpingPus@lemmy.world ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Those who can read articles, know that the new CEO said in the original interview that there will be the option to turn the AI features off.
  
  Reading is useful, more people should learn to do it.
  
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- TheOctonaut@mander.xyz ⁨18⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Floorp
  
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IndustryStandard@lemmy.world ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
For now…

The frog must boil slowly.

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nonentity@sh.itjust.works ⁨20⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
How do you put a kill switch on the radioactive asbestos being deliberately whisked into the code base?

Anyone who frames LLMs as AI is complicit in the grift, and their opinions should be summarily ignored and ridiculed.

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Professorozone@lemmy.world ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Getting ready to ditch this crappy browser. I used to love Firefox but now it’s been enshitified. I’m a tab-o-holic. Have too many tabs open, think I’ll slow down. Leave the browser open too long. I think I’ll slow down. Oops. Looks like your page crashed. Wanna go to this site? Sorry it’s not compatible with your browser.

People seem to hate Brave for the crap they pulled, rightly so I guess, but at least it worked. It seems like there are no good browsers now. I tried Mulvad but due to it’s safety features, it won’t open where I last left off.

Chrome is apparently safe, if you consider Google safe. Microsoft? Puhlease.

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- megopie@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨8⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  I’ve not had any issues with librewolf slowing down or crashing even when left open for prolonged times.
  
  It’s a fork of fire fox, but with a lot of stuff pulled out and some ad blocking stuff built in. the devs have said they’re not gonna implement the upstream fire fox AI stuff.
  
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- Jankatarch@lemmy.world ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Ngl I just use a fork like waterfox and librewolf instead of switching to brave or chromium.
  
  Alternatively abandon javascript and use dillo.
  
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judgyweevil@feddit.it ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
I’ll believe it when I see it

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Yerbouti@sh.itjust.works ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Unpopular opinion, I can kind of see why they want to bring AI features. I would much ratter like they rely on third parties plugins for AI implementation, but if some AI features becomes standard in next couples of months/years, people will blame them for not have jumped on that train. I’m really skeptical about all of this but I’m willing to wait and see what exactly they have in mind. I won’t hesitate to switch to a fork if it’s some google-like bullshit. Careful Mozilla, we are legions to watch your next move.

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starblursd@lemmy.zip ⁨19⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Well that’s better than nothing but I will continue to use forks that completely strip that shit out. It would be better if they just didn’t include it at all or it was off by default and could be enabled. But I know they got to get their money somehow but I digress

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MattW03@lemmy.ca ⁨21⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
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