Mozilla Aims To Bring Openness And User Control To The AI Era

Mozilla is preparing to influence artificial intelligence in the same way that it influenced the early web by promoting user choice, decentralization, and openness.

At the Web Summit in Portugal, Mozilla president Mark Surman said that the company is working to steer AI in a more open and community-driven direction.

Like societies gradually adapting regulations for cars decades ago, Surman pointed out that governments worldwide are still figuring out how to regulate AI.

However, in the midst of international tensions, he claimed that the real action is taking place in industrial policy, where nations are battling for control over their own technology and artificial intelligence capabilities.

To keep pace, Mozilla is shifting its work to make open-source AI more accessible. The company is building what Surman describes as a "Wikipedia for ethical training data," giving communities ownership of the datasets used to train models.

Inside its products, Mozilla is experimenting with an "AI browser project" that would add AI tools to Firefox without compromising user privacy.

A new opt-in experience, tentatively called AI Window or AI Mode, is expected next year. Unlike other browsers that lock users into one AI system, Mozilla wants people to pick their own model, whether it's ChatGPT, Mistral, or an open-source alternative. Users could also choose different models for work and personal browsing.

Surman also acknowledged Mozilla's complicated but longstanding partnership with Google, its biggest revenue source and also a frequent target of criticism.

Despite the tensions, he said both companies share an interest in preserving an open web a goal he believes is only becoming more important as AI becomes central to the online experience.

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