The backlash against AI invading almost every aspect of the computing experience is growing by the day.
Particularly as an onslaught of lazy AI slop subsuming news feeds, the tech is starting to feel like a massive distraction — and huge parts of the internet are disillusioned or even fuming in anger.
For instance, a vast number of Windows users refused to upgrade after Microsoft announced it would turn the operating system into a so-called “agentic OS.”
Even household names in the open-source industry aren’t safe. After being appointed as the new CEO of open-source software company Mozilla, whose Firefox browser has long been lauded as a compelling alternative to Google’s Chrome and Apple’s Safari, Anthony Enzor-DeMeo announced that it would be tripling down on AI.
In a December 16 blog post, Enzor-DeMeo announced that Firefox would become a “modern AI browser and support a portfolio of new and trusted software additions.”
But a ringing backlash quickly forced the company into damage control mode.
“I’ve never seen a company so astoundingly out of touch with the people who want to use its software,” one disillusioned user tweeted in response to the news.
“I switched back to Firefox late last year BECAUSE it was the last AI-free browser,” another lamented. “I shoulda known.”
“Please don’t turn Firefox into an AI browser,” yet another begged. “That’s a great way to push us to alternatives.”
The outcry was formidable enough for Mozilla to clarify the company’s new CEO’s comments.
“Something that hasn’t been made clear: Firefox will have an option to completely disable all AI features,” the company wrote in an update on Mastodon. “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.”
An open letter posted to the Firefox subreddit took issue with Enzor-DeMeo’s new direction.
“Ironically, in a post announcing this new direction and highlighting ‘agency and choice,’ there was little mention of user input or feedback,” the letter reads. “This highlights a disconnect that many of us experience daily: Mozilla has a pattern of struggling to implement and support basic features, and much of the time fails to even acknowledge serious user feedback.”
“Firefox doesn’t need to become Google or Microsoft to succeed by both business and user standards,” the letter goes on. “It’s beloved precisely because it’s not. I hope that distinction isn’t lost as Mozilla enters its ‘next chapter’ as part of a ‘broader ecosystem of trusted software.’”
In an apparent effort to reassure the company’s most diehard fans, Enzor-DeMeo took to the comments.
“Rest assured, Firefox will always remain a browser built around user control,” he wrote. “That includes AI. You will have a clear way to turn AI features off. A…
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