Anthony Enzor-DeMeo, who became the new head of Mozilla, published his vision for the development of the Firefox browser, which involves the introduction of artificial intelligence. This is not very happy for users who choose the browser because of the lack of AI, but the company says that these features will be optional.
Anthony Enzor-DeMeo, who became the new head of Mozilla, published his vision for the development of the Firefox browser, which involves the introduction of artificial intelligence. This is not very happy for users who choose the browser because of the lack of AI, but the company says that these features will be optional.
The new CEO’s main goal is to make Mozilla «the most trusted software company in the world.» Mozilla’s press release also notes that «consumers around the world increasingly feel over-tracked, under-informed, and unsure about how AI systems shape information.»
«I knew this would be a defining issue, especially in the browser, where so many decisions are being made now around privacy, data, and transparency. People want software that is fast, modern, but also honest about what it does. They want to understand what’s going on and have real choices,» says Enzor-DeMeo.
Mozilla is going through a tough time — it went through a restructuring, laid off 30% of its staff last year, and scrapped many of its projects. The company will also invest in diversifying its revenue beyond search; Mozilla gets a significant portion of its revenue in exchange for Google being its default search engine.) Enzor-DeMeo said Mozilla plans to transform Firefox into «a broader ecosystem of trusted software.»
Mozilla’s CEO said the company will invest in artificial intelligence and add AI features to Firefox. He said he will work to expand Mozilla’s products beyond the browser, but Firefox will remain the company’s core.
«It will evolve into a modern browser with artificial intelligence and will support a portfolio of new and reliable software additions,» Enzor-DeMeo said.
The company’s move has upset many social media users who believe that there are plenty of browsers on the market that offer, and sometimes force, AI features. However, Enzor-DeMeo assured that the company will make AI optional in Firefox and other products.
«AI should always be a choice — something people can easily turn off. People should know why the feature works the way it does and what benefits they get from it,» he wrote.
Last month, Mozilla began implementing a new course with AI Windo, a future built-in digital assistant for the Firefox browser that can be turned off. In October, the company also added an AI search engine called Perplexity to Firefox.
