Cable Forum - Oh, no! Firefox WITH AI?!

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Anonymouse

18-12-2025 20:45

Oh, no! Firefox WITH AI?!

According to this, Firefox is going AI - and this is not optional.

That's it. I'm now looking for a browser that is a) private, b) not Chromium (if the two are not the same), and c) with NO AI.

OTOH, I've just read this...

If - IF - he listens to users eschewing AI, I might reconsider. Bloody big 'if', though.

Hugh	18-12-2025 21:09

Re: Oh, no! Firefox WITH AI?!

https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2025/1...i-kill-switch/

Quote:

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.

All AI features will also be opt-in. I think there are some grey areas in what 'opt-in' means to different people (e.g. is a new toolbar button opt-in?), but the kill switch will absolutely remove all that stuff, and never show it in future. That's unambiguous.

I'm not asking for faith in our direction - the thing I love about the Firefox community is how open, honest, and technical it is.

But I do ask that you don't have the opposite of faith. Like, try not to be determined that we're going to do the wrong thing here.

I hope we can (re)gain your trust here. I don't personally work on this stuff, but I'll try hard to answer any questions you have. And other than that, I'll get back in my lane, and stick to web platform stuff. - Jake (@jakearchibald.com)

Hopefully this will come to be (as a Firefox user)

Anonymouse

19-12-2025 00:01

Re: Oh, no! Firefox WITH AI?!

Oh. Well, if switching off AI is - and stays - an option after all, I'll stick with it.

NOTE: My antipathy towards AI is not caused by technophobia. I entirely agree AI has its place...as a tool, not as a replacement. Teaching, art, writing, psychology - no. Anti-hacking and/or dealing with spam, possibly. Research...mmm, as long as the research is of human origin and the AI is helping.

Nor am I being old-fashioned (though I might be entitled at 60!). Again, AI has its place. But too often it's being misused.

Oh, I forgot - no bloody AI interviews! Keep Personnel as people!
(That's 'people', not "Human Resources", a term I have always despised. A computer is a resource. A photocopier is a resource. The Internet is a resource. But people are people. Treat them as such.)

Paul	19-12-2025 00:58

Re: Oh, no! Firefox WITH AI?!

I stick with FF as I prefer it over the others, but the developers lost touch with reality years ago, thats why its share is now about 3% and not the 30% it once was.

Sirius

19-12-2025 07:08

Re: Oh, no! Firefox WITH AI?!

I have been using Brave for a while now and i am happy with it. I stopped using firefox due to many issues that i found annoying.

SnoopZ

19-12-2025 12:55

Re: Oh, no! Firefox WITH AI?!

Vivaldi for me, I hope they never take the AI route.

Carth

19-12-2025 14:14

Re: Oh, no! Firefox WITH AI?!

Vivaldi here too, not that it's the best, but it suits my needs

Paul	19-12-2025 16:59

Re: Oh, no! Firefox WITH AI?!

Both of those stopped supporting W7, Firefox still supports it as an ESR version.

Taf	21-12-2025 13:52

Re: Oh, no! Firefox WITH AI?!

Opera just updated, and it asked if I wanted to activate its AI feature. NOPE!

SnoopZ

21-12-2025 15:38

Re: Oh, no! Firefox WITH AI?!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taf (Post 36208056)

Opera just updated, and it asked if I wanted to activate its AI feature. NOPE!

Highly recommend Vivaldi the previous owners of Opera before it got sold to China!

Sirius

21-12-2025 18:00

Re: Oh, no! Firefox WITH AI?!

Quote:

Originally Posted by SnoopZ (Post 36208058)

Highly recommend Vivaldi the previous owners of Opera before it got sold to China!

Does Vivaldi allow extensions ?

SnoopZ

21-12-2025 19:02

Re: Oh, no! Firefox WITH AI?!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirius (Post 36208060)

Does Vivaldi allow extensions ?

Yes it uses the Chrome extensions. The mobile browser doesn't but it has an adblocker built in which seems to work great with every page I visit.

Sirius

21-12-2025 19:39

Re: Oh, no! Firefox WITH AI?!

Quote:

Originally Posted by SnoopZ (Post 36208061)

Yes it uses the Chrome extensions. The mobile browser doesn't but it has an adblocker built in which seems to work great with every page I visit.

Thanks i will give it a try

VX1953

22-12-2025 15:15

Re: Oh, no! Firefox WITH AI?!

I use Firefox, Opera (mainly for its inbuilt switchable VPN) and Duck Duck Go on Windows 10 & Windows 7, I like Duck as its quick and reliable,I found Firefox sometimes is slow. I won't touch Edge or Chromium with their privacy issues.

Dude111

23-12-2025 07:28

Quote:

Even so I wouldnt trust it.... AI is horrible and should be avoided!!

admars

23-12-2025 10:34

Re: Oh, no! Firefox WITH AI?!

firefox has been by default browser for year, AI enhanced search can be useful, but it depends what you're using ai for

for example, I was looking into cloud storage, so into chatgpt I asked about the differences between drop box, google drive and pdrive, to explain pros and cons.

and offered other solutions, and options to delve into more details if i explained what i want to do

it wrote a nice summary about them, drew a nice chart of different tiers of storage, the different prices etc, in seconds, rather than me having to go to each site, see the different tiers and put it into excel.

now I'm not going to just get my credit card out and subscribe to the one it told me was the best according to what i said, but if firefox is going to start my research off for me, and save me some time, why not?

it's a tool to be there if you want to use it to save time.

Dude111

24-12-2025 17:51

We hear ya buddy :)

downquark1

25-12-2025 11:53

Re: Oh, no! Firefox WITH AI?!

They are going to add a button to turn it off.

heero_yuy

25-12-2025 12:21

Re: Oh, no! Firefox WITH AI?!

Quote:

Originally Posted by downquark1 (Post 36208207)

They are going to add a button to turn it off.

That's assuming IT will let you turn IT off.:erm:

downquark1

25-12-2025 12:51

Re: Oh, no! Firefox WITH AI?!

Quote:

Originally Posted by heero_yuy (Post 36208209)

That's assuming IT will let you turn IT off.:erm:

You have to worry more about the executives forcing AI on you rather than the AI themselves -- at least at this point in time.

Taf	26-12-2025 15:56

Re: Oh, no! Firefox WITH AI?!

Another forum I frequent now has an AI member that pops up to answer questions.

Carth

26-12-2025 17:04

Re: Oh, no! Firefox WITH AI?!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Taf (Post 36208267)

Another forum I frequent now has an AI member that pops up to answer questions.

Ask it which football team it supports, whether it prefers beef or lamb, and if it snores when sleeping on it's back :p: :D

Dude111

28-12-2025 02:42

I called a # I found that has an AI person answering (Some law firm) and I couldnt believe what I got her to do!!

I said "Sing your ABCs" and she did https://www.cableforum.uk/images/local/2025/12/2.gif

I aked her what the weather and a couple times she said she didnt know and then I said well taKE A guess and tell me.. She said it was probably in the 80s :D

Makes me wonder if the company can hear whats said to the AI thing? (Maybe)

Hugh	03-02-2026 13:16

Re: Oh, no! Firefox WITH AI?!

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/new...x-ai-features/

Quote:

In response to user feedback on AI integration, Mozilla announced today that the next Firefox release will let users disable AI features entirely or manage them individually.

The new "Block AI enhancements" toggle will be available in Firefox 148 on February 24 and will help block current and future generative AI features in the desktop browser from a single location. Users will also have the option to enable specific AI tools while keeping others disabled.

"We've heard from many who want nothing to do with AI. We've also heard from others who want AI tools that are genuinely useful. Listening to our community, alongside our ongoing commitment to offer choice, led us to build AI controls," said Firefox head Ajit Varma.

"Starting with Firefox 148, which rolls out on Feb. 24, you'll find a new AI controls section within the desktop browser settings. It provides a single place to block current and future generative AI features in Firefox."

Firefox users who prefer to block AI entirely can enable the "Block AI enhancements" toggle, which also prevents pop-ups or reminders about existing or upcoming AI features. Once configured, the AI preferences will persist across browser updates and can be changed at any time.

The new AI controls panel will also enable users to manage five AI-powered features individually: browser translations, alt text generation for images in PDFs, AI-enhanced tab grouping with suggested names, link previews showing key points, and sidebar access to chatbots (including Anthropic Claude, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, and Le Chat Mistral).

"When AI controls become available, the Block AI enhancements toggle will be off by default," a Mozilla spokesperson told BleepingComputer. "AI controls will reflect your existing choices in Firefox: Features you have previously used will appear as Enabled. Features you have previously turned off will appear as Blocked. Features you have not used before will appear as Available."

Carth

03-02-2026 14:02

Re: Oh, no! Firefox WITH AI?!

My take on browsers pushing AI tools:

'You can disguise a carrier pigeon as a communication satellite, but it will still shit on your car'

Anonymouse

03-02-2026 14:15

Re: Oh, no! Firefox WITH AI?!

Well, that's good news. Now if Micro$oft also proves to be serious, we might get somewhere. We just need the Linux creators to issue a similar confirmation. Mint works fine without AI.

Hugh	03-02-2026 15:26

Re: Oh, no! Firefox WITH AI?!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carth (Post 36210009)

My take on browsers pushing AI tools:

'You can disguise a carrier pigeon as a communication satellite, but it will still shit on your car'

That reads as if it were written by an AI tool…;)

Dude111

03-02-2026 17:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hugh

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/new...x-ai-features/

I think i would rather have an earlier version OR A DIFFERENT BROWSER THAN DIDNT HAVE AI than trust they would let one disable this garbage!!

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