Alex Kontos, a founder of Waterfox, a Firefox modification focused on privacy, performance, and eliminating excess, stated that in the foreseeable future, the Waterfox project will not integrate functionality that uses large language models, at least not in the form in which they are being developed in Firefox. This refers to the application of large language models that influence browser behavior and perform actions on behalf of the user. Local application of machine learning systems, for example, for translation from one language to another, is permissible.
Alex believes that Mozilla is making a fundamental mistake by intending to turn Firefox into an AI browser. He understands that Mozilla wants to strengthen its market position and maintain functional parity with competing browsers actively implementing AI. However, by trying to target the average user and the mass market already occupied by Chrome, Mozilla is making Firefox less attractive to advanced users, developers, and technical specialists, who form the core of the current audience.
In Alex's opinion, one reason for the decline in Firefox's market share is the addition of features unnecessary for the main audience. Mozilla claims to trust, transparency, and freedom of user action, but at the same time, it introduces technologies that undermine all these principles. Instead of giving users full control over their browsing process, Mozilla intends to implement an opaque AI layer that becomes an additional intermediary between the user and the browser.
The large language models underlying such a layer are a 'black box' that performs actions on behalf of the user but does not allow for analysis of behavior and methods of working with data. This creates a situation where AI decides how and what to show the user, but the logic behind these decisions cannot be examined or understood.
Forrás: opennet.ru
