• You will be able able to disable all AI features in Firefox starting in v148, Mozilla has announced. • The next major update of the web browser, which is scheduled for release on 24th of February, includes a AI Controls panel which does what many have been ask for: provide choice over whether AI features are surfaced in the UI or not. • You can turn off Firefox’s AI features wholesale or at a granular level. • If you want to use certain features, like on-device page translations and alt text generation, without being nagged to ’try’ chatbots or use Google Lens, you can pick and choose: If you don’t want any AI features in Firefox at all, the ‘Block AI enhancements’ toggle acts as a kill-switch. • But notice the framing here: you’re not ‘disabling AI’, you’re ‘blocking enhancements’. • This reads a little like ‘confirm shaming’, a form of deceptive pattern used to emotionally cue users to view their choice as self-sabotage.
Article Summaries:
- Mozilla announced that its next Firefox release (v148, due 24 Feb) will include an AI Controls panel giving users a “kill‑switch” to block all AI features or enable them selectively. The panel lets users disable AI‑enhanced UI prompts, on‑device translations, alt‑text generation, and future AI additions. Mozilla cited community demand for choice and backlash over unpopular AI tools such as tab‑group naming. The update reflects a shift toward offering users control amid criticism that the company’s AI‑first strategy has been perceived as over‑promising and under‑delivering.
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