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New Mozilla CEO: "[Firefox] will evolve into a modern AI browser" (blog.mozilla.org)
submitted 10 months ago by to c/firefox@lemmy.world
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[–] 46 points 10 months ago (17 children)

No.

AI is something that the user can easily turn on.

If somebody is forced to turn it off before they can use their browser, it's not actually optional.

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  • [–] 26 points 10 months ago (1 child)

    The best choice is to let the user know that such a feature is available first, ask if they want it on, and tell them how to turn it on if they say no. The problem with having things off by default is that most people don't look around the options, they go with what they're given. This isn't even about AI, but features in general.

    Myself on both Firefox and DuckDuckGo I saw the AI selection prominently displayed and I disabled it. Be transparent, but that includes letting your users know things are there.

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  • [–] 2 points 10 months ago

    I hate starting an app and being forced to choose between things that I have no idea what they are or whether I would want them right when it starts. Just leave it off and let me turn it on when I want to, thanks.

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  • [–] 3 points 10 months ago (12 children)

    This got upvoted. A comment that literally doesn't understand the definition of the word "optional". Man, do better Lemmings.

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  • [–] 9 points 10 months ago (7 children)

    No, fuck that. I am sick and tired of having shit pushed at me and then it being made my responsibility to be eternally hypervigilent to avoid it. It's abusive and fucking shame on you for defending it!

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  • [–] -1 points 10 months ago* (6 children)

    Yes, the only way to talk about something you don't like is to bend the actual meaning of words to make it sound worse.

    ...or, we can just respect what words mean. Big ask, I know.

    I have turned off every AI feature I can in Firefox and most any other app. I'm not DeFeNdInG jack shit.

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  • [–] 2 points 10 months ago (5 children)

    What if, instead of having to go to the effort of turning it all off, it's already off though?

    Consent in any other scenario doesn't have yes as the default option, why tolerate it in the tech world? (Autocorrect changed tech to greedy, that's perhaps more accurate)

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  • [–] 1 point 10 months ago (4 children)

    That's a different conversation. I'm trying to call someone on lying. "Optional" has a very simple meaning.

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  • [–] 1 point 10 months ago (3 children)

    Optional has a very simple meaning if you ignore the context of the conversion.

    Consider the question "Would you like to be punched in the face or not?" You have the option to choose either, but before you answer I'll start punching you in the face anyway. Do you see how consent is a requirement of optional in that context?

    The same applies for many options in life, the default is almost always "no". Firefox should make this opt-in, not opt-out for the same reason.

    If you're still not convinced by the argument of consent (which, ooft, red flag if you're not) then also consider the uproar in both this thread and around the internet/tech world because of this decision by Mozilla. All they have to do is change it from opt-out to opt-in and all this outrage disappears. But they haven't. Why?

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  • [–] 0 points 10 months ago (2 children)

    This is not in good faith. There is absolutely no point in a conversation where one person argues for words having meaning and the other person pretending what they're really doing is arguing against a larger point which they actually happen to agree with.

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  • [–] 2 points 10 months ago (1 child)

    I disagree, you're not conversing in good faith, because you're trying to win a pedantic argument that nobody else is engaging in. You see no way to "win" so you declare it bad faith.

    The topic at hand is Mozilla adding AI into Firefox by default, and allowing users to turn it off if desired. So, optional, as you stated. The context that you're refusing to acknowledge however, because you're determined to win a pedantic argument rather than engage in a conversation, is that optional in this regard requires consent. Informed consent even. What does AI do to/for the end user? Why should they accept it to be on? What safeguards are in place? Unless they know this context, it should be off by default. Off by default is still optional, the user can still turn it on if they desire.

    But you're hung up on the word optional and care more about the pedantry of that one word rather than the context that brought us all into this conversation in the first place.

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  • [–] -2 points 10 months ago

    Again, I simply chose to criticize the false use of a word in order to lie to make a point that was already valid and easily made.

    I Am NoT eNgAgiNg In YoUr PoInT tHeReFoRe It DoEsNt ExIsT

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  • [–] 2 points 10 months ago (1 child)

    TBF if our society and data harvesting practices have taught us anything, it's that the majority of users do not have the willingness or the basic understandings needed to opt out of the default settings. The amount of "install it and forget it" users is astounding.

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  • [–] -1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

    Lemmy has such a hard-on for hating AI that it ignores what I consider to be basic facts. This, combined with the fact that Lemmy leans technical, means being out of touch is common. Seeing suggestions in this thread that the AI features should be opt in is absurd because no-one will use them because 90% of people don't change settings.

    The hate for Mozilla also seems short sighted. Mozilla has to follow the group to try to gain marketshare or at least keep what it has. Firefox's marketshare is dwindling and if it gets low enough it will die, which would be bad for everyone

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