As there seems to have been recent confusion about this, just a quick "official" toot to then pin: we haven't and won't support "generative AI" related stuff in LibreWolf. If you see some features like that (like Perplexity search recently, or the link preview feature now) it is solely because it "slipped through". As soon as we become aware of something like this / it gets reported to us, we will remove/disable it ASAP.

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[–] thenoirwolfess@lemmynsfw.com 10 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

Woohoo! My partner is switching soon because Ecosia betrayed its user base. Eco warrior browser now uses AI search assistant.

[–] Val@anarchist.nexus 3 points 6 days ago (1 children)

They are apparently trying to do AI as greenly as possible: https://blog.ecosia.org/ecosia-ai/

Reducing AI’s footprint isn’t enough — we’re here to make a positive impact. That’s why we generate more renewable energy than our AI features use, from 100% clean sources like solar and wind.

We’ve invested €18M in renewable energy projects — expanding solar parks and adding clean power to the grid. The energy we generate helps displace fossil fuels and accelerate the transition to renewable energy.

We use tools like the AI Energy Score and Ecologits to select efficient models and track their energy use — keeping our process transparent, and ourselves accountable.

https://support.ecosia.org/article/1006-ai-search#Model-training-and-adjustments-LOaKB

We use OpenAI’s GPT-4.1 mini because it strikes a strong balance between performance and efficiency. By choosing a smaller, mainstream model, we aim to deliver a high-quality experience while keeping our energy and water footprint low. We believe there is a need for greater transparency around AI’s environmental impact and continue to push for change across the tech industry.

Our AI Search is built using smaller, more efficient models less energy than larger ones, according to a recent study. We assessed the model’s impact using tools like EcoLogits, CodeCarbon or Hugging Face AI Energy Score. Additionally, we avoid energy-intensive functionalities like video generation or deep research.

We generate more clean energy from solar and wind than our AI features consume. The surplus goes into the electricity grid, helping to replace fossil fuels. While we can’t yet account for the emissions generated during the AI model’s training, using our AI Search features helps accelerate the energy transition towards renewables.

[–] andioop@programming.dev 1 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

I'm glad to hear that!

I still want to just go to the information source myself instead of an extra middleman of AI and what it thinks its sources are. I emailed Ecosia asking for a config switch to get rid of the AI search option at the bottom of my search results. Not a priority/not planning on it (one of them). Valid, it is not like I'm a paying customer, but also I want to reward people not hopping on the AI train. But at least Ecosia is not being as awful about AI as I thought they were. Will be trying LibreWolf instead.

[–] rehydrate5503@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

What’s this about ecosia? I’ve been using the search for the last few months but haven’t heard any controversy.

[–] thenoirwolfess@lemmynsfw.com 3 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

It has moved its AI search assistant from a separate tab, and now gives frequent responses in the primary view just like Google, Brave and DuckDuckGo, but there's no visible option to disable it in either search or browser settings, aka it's now on by default. I've yet to check browser config flags but that shouldn't be necessary.

[–] DFX4509B@lemmy.wtf 3 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Ecosia allegedly also gets their search results from Bing, for whatever that's worth.

[–] Resonosity@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 6 days ago

I thought Ecosia was working on their own index?

[–] onlinepersona@programming.dev 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

https://support.ecosia.org/article/579-search-results-providers

Didn't even take a minute to research

[–] DFX4509B@lemmy.wtf 0 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Proof that Ecosia isn't really about their 'eco' claims when they're getting their search results from the people who are actively killing the world right now instead of indexing stuff independently.

[–] onlinepersona@programming.dev 6 points 6 days ago

That's not proof. Proof would be if they weren't using their ad revenue to do what they claim to be doing.

If you think using US tech means you're evil, wait until you find out where your clothes come from, who works to make your food, who is exploited by the amazing cheap deals you profit off of, who profits from the products you buy.

Ecosia, just like you, doesn't exist in a vacuum with endless money. They have to make the changes within their means with the cards they are dealt. You're demanding Ecosia build a competitor to Bing and Google with no money and that they save the world at the same time. Do you demand the same of yourself or do you call yourself a traitor to humanity every time you look in the mirror?