Mozilla is working on an AI kill switch for the Firefox open-source web browser to let users completely disable all AI features.

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.

  • Pirate2377@lemmy.zipEnglish
    13·
    14 hours ago

    You can also disable ai via toggling browser.ml.enable to false on about:config. For now at least…

    • 2910000@lemmy.worldEnglish
      6·
      11 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
        • Nalivai@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1·
          7 hours ago

          If you only disable the first one, the points in menu are still there, so I don’t know what exactly does it do but not that. At least it was like that last time I tried to get rid of this annoying shit.

        • 2910000@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2·
          11 hours ago

          I might never get around to flipping whatever kill switch they claim to be working on, so I’m turning off as much as I can now

    • tea@lemmy.todayEnglish
      3·
      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?

      • TheGrandNagus@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        6 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.

      • finitebanjo@lemmy.worldEnglish
        101·
        12 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 shove it even further down your throat and train it on you.

        It’s just a bottom line trust issue, regardless of actual features or capability.

        The way they talked about making an Agentic Browser implies they want AI to eventually be the primary default method of interaction.

      • xor@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
        1·
        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

      • meejle@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        12 hours ago

        There’s the slow-and-not-very-capable link preview thing… and I could’ve sworn the “what’s new” page 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. 😬