TL;DR: Mozilla has a new CEO and a new mission: transform Firefox into an AI browser. That has run into some snags, as Firefox users don’t seem that interested in AI. Mozilla is forging ahead, utilizing deceptive patterns (previously known as dark patterns) to nag and annoy people into enabling AI features. You can see this in the introduction of Link Previews, an extremely invasive anti-feature that exists solely to push AI into your experience.
Is this guy for real?
Mozilla says that key points are processed locally to protect your privacy in the release notes, but says nothing about leaking your privacy in showing the link preview (and enabling it by default).
As opposed to the case where you don’t have a link preview, and you click on a website to see what it contains, and they get your IP. The author seems to think Mozilla should have protected our privacy by having someone act as the proxy for the request. Because involving a thirds party that receives all these requests and does work for us for free is absolutely how we protect our privacy.
The user might also have mobility impairments that makes a fast click harder, resulting in a longer hold time.
Yes, a feature clearly designed for pushing onto that juicy “people with mobility impairments” userbase.
I don’t like the direction Firefox seems to be headed in, but damn people really enjoy getting outraged over everything they do. Around here they get ten times more shit than any other comparable project.
The author seems to be more interested in generating outrage than anything, but I think the point about AI still stands. From a UX standpoint, key points that may be incorrect are a terrible idea. That they originally intended to force AI on the user, at least from how it seems, is problematic.
The author’s privacy and accessibility concerns seem artifical to me.
Around here they get ten times more shit than any other comparable project.
Just wait until you see a post about GIMP…
Zen figured out link previews without using AI and the solution is really as simple as it gets. Maybe stop trying to manufacture problems for AI to solve?
From the linked article I learned that Firefox’s solution also doesn’t use AI, not by default at least.
And the Zen way of doing it has the exact same (imaginary) privacy issue for which the article blames Firefox.
The feature was introduced as a way for users to get relevant information faster, by providing them with an image, the webpage title, and AI-generated key points.
The AI part was made optional. That doesn’t mean they didn’t try.
They create an AI feature, they realise people don’t want it, and realise a minimal one they can turn on for everyone in a thin-end-of-the-wedge approach.
OR
They create a feature with AI, realise it’s controversial, so they figure out a minimal version, they split the parts with and without AI, and enable the non-controversial one by default.
The facts are the same, just a different narrative. Which is legitimate. Realizing that’s what it is is non optional.
