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Architecting Consent for AI: Deceptive Patterns in Firefox Link Previews (www.quippd.com)

submitted 3 weeks ago by yoasif@fedia.io to c/foss@beehaw.org

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TL;DR: Mozilla has a new CEO and a new mission: transform Firefox into an AI browser. That has run into some snags, as Firefox users don’t seem that interested in AI. Mozilla is forging ahead, utilizing deceptive patterns (previously known as dark patterns) to nag and annoy people into enabling AI features. You can see this in the introduction of Link Previews, an extremely invasive anti-feature that exists solely to push AI into your experience.

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[–] TehPers@beehaw.org 9 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

Zen figured out link previews without using AI and the solution is really as simple as it gets. Maybe stop trying to manufacture problems for AI to solve?

[–] skarn@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

From the linked article I learned that Firefox's solution also doesn't use AI, not by default at least.

And the Zen way of doing it has the exact same (imaginary) privacy issue for which the article blames Firefox.

[–] TehPers@beehaw.org 4 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

The feature was introduced as a way for users to get relevant information faster, by providing them with an image, the webpage title, and AI-generated key points.

The AI part was made optional. That doesn't mean they didn't try.

[–] skarn@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 3 weeks ago

They create an AI feature, they realise people don't want it, and realise a minimal one they can turn on for everyone in a thin-end-of-the-wedge approach.

They create a feature with AI, realise it's controversial, so they figure out a minimal version, they split the parts with and without AI, and enable the non-controversial one by default.

The facts are the same, just a different narrative. Which is legitimate. Realizing that's what it is is non optional.