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Mozilla rolls out first AI features in Firefox Nightly, and theyre actually useful. (blog.mozilla.org)

submitted 1 month ago by Blisterexe to c/[email protected]

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Tldr: Theyre adding an opt-in alt text generation for blind people and an opt-in ai chat sidebar where you can choose the model used (includes self-hosted ones)

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[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 month ago (2 children)

If it was truly opt-in, it could be an extension. They should not be bundling this with the browser, bloating it more in the process.

The extension API doesn't have enough access for this.

You technically can run your own local AI, but they hook up to the big data-hungry ones out of the box.

While it is opt-in and disabled by default, this is the real problem.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

What are they missing? So far, all they've added is a sidebar and a couple extra right-click menu additions. Both of these are available for all extensions.

[–] [email protected] -3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The extension APl doesn't have enough access for this.

If that's the case, then it's pretty great that Mozilla is also the exact company in charge of the extension API.

I have only one extension, and I use it longer than I use Firefox. I also trust the developer a lot more than I trust Mozilla.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Mozilla isn't in charge of the extension API, it uses Chromium's WebExtensions API

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

Mozilla isn't in charge of the extension API, it uses Chromium's WebExtensions API

No. They are basing their implementation on that of Chrome, but nobody is forcing Mozilla to do this ... So yes, Mozilla is responsible for all the APIs they integrate. Of course.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Yeah, just create an entirely new, incompatible extension engine from scratch for this one feature specifically!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Yeah, just create an entirely new, incompatible extension engine from scratch for this one feature specifically!

This is absolutely not how any of this works.

While Mozilla implements the WebExtensions API based on the W3C standard, they are not bound to a 100% verbatim implementation. Like other browser vendors, Mozilla has the flexibility to extend or modify the API as needed, as long as they maintain compatibility with the core standard. Adding new APIs or features to the extension system does not require creating an entirely incompatible engine. Browser vendors often add non-standard extensions to APIs, which can later be proposed for inclusion in the next version of the standard if they prove useful. So, Mozilla can certainly add new APIs to their extension system without making it incompatible with the existing WebExtensions ecosystem. This is not difficult to understand.