Mozilla forms rebel alliance to challenge Big Tech's approach to AI browsers

Mozilla is forming a rebellion as more companies add AI to their browsers

* Mozilla will add AI to Firefox but vows it'll create human-centered, open tools, not exploitative systems. * Launches a "rebel alliance" of open-source devs, startups, and technologists to steer AI toward trust. * Users split: Mozilla seeks a middle ground, but many Firefox users would prefer no AI. While other companies have been quick to add AI to their browsers, Mozilla has been walking a tightrope. On one hand, Mozilla's CEO believes that Firefox needs to get with the times and add AI tools. On the other hand, Firefox's users aren't too happy with the idea. As such, Mozilla has been trying to find a middle ground between adding AI without forcing AI, allowing people to choose their tools, and giving them a big 'nuke all AI' button. Well, Mozilla has now declared that it's creating a "rebel alliance of sorts" against current AI trends. The company isn't going wholly anti-AI, as the company's statement clearly states that it's working on AI tools, but it is against AI that Mozilla deems exploitative of its users. Mozilla Thunderbird gets a web-based open-source client to take on Gmail There's a slight catch, though. Posts 6 By Simon Batt Mozilla is making a rebel alliance against AI But not all AI As spotted by PC Gamer, there's a new "state of Mozilla" page over on the official website. The page declares that Mozilla wants to reclaim control of the internet from big companies and their AI tools. Don't get it twisted, though; Mozilla has stated that it's very much going to add AI tools to its own browser. However, it argues that its AI tools will be different: Today we are rewiring Mozilla to do for AI what we did for the web: to push AI in a different direction, one defined by openness, agency and choice. We continue to invest in core web products like Firefox and Thunderbird -- and to support public interest technologists and communities through our fellowships, grant making and advocacy. And, at the same time, we are investing in new technology and new companies to push AI in a direction that is trustworthy, human-centered and shaped by all of us. To do this, Mozilla plans to bring on "open source developers, responsible startups, fellows, philanthropists and public-interest technologists" into what it calls a "rebel alliance." This, the company hopes, will help develop more ethical AI tools that will put humanity first instead of the bottom line. Subscribe to the newsletter for Mozilla AI insight Crave deeper context? Subscribe to the newsletter for clear, context-rich coverage and expert analysis of Mozilla's 'rebel alliance' and the larger ethical AI debate, helping you understand how browsers approach user choice. Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime. The website isn't just a collection of impressive claims, though. Mozilla has added sections that cover individual elements of this movement and what the company will do to achieve its goal. For instance, the 'Rebels' page lists everyone currently on board, while the 'Manifesto' section lists all the goals Mozilla wants to achieve. And while it's all very impressive and with a lot of solid backing behind it, I can't help but feel that Firefox's users would prefer that Mozilla rebelled against the norm by simply not using AI at all.

Mozilla says it's building a 'rebel alliance' to challenge Big Tech and what it's doing with AI, which is wild but I'm kind of here for it

The company has its own, apparently more open ideas for the future of AI. Mozilla has been carving out a space for itself in this new and frightfully fast-growing world of AI. Last month, there was backlash when it announced that Firefox would "evolve into a modern AI browser." Since then, it seems Mozilla has been clarifying what exactly this means, possibly in an attempt to reassure those who are worried the browser might become too AI-centric. And now, it's even going as far as to characterise itself as helping build a "rebel alliance" against Big Tech. The company has released an animation- and graphic-heavy roadmap and report, which in many ways reads like a very dramatic vision statement about how it can challenge the way that AI is developing at the hands of Big Tech. It's kind of bonkers, but in a way that I can't help but get on board with. "What if a rebel alliance of sorts -- developers, activists, researchers, founders, investors -- joined forces to build something different?" It envisions that this alliance will "push AI in a direction that is trustworthy, human-centered and shaped by all of us." Which I suppose explains the focus on turning Firefox into an "AI browser." Regarding this, Mozilla does clarify that its vision for Firefox is one of optional and opt-in AI features. For 2026, it wants an opt-in Firefox AI Window and AI Controls that "give users one central place to manage AI features, even disable them completely. Don't want AI? Turn it off." It's not all about Firefox, though. The changes it envisions are in part intended to arrive through investing in Firefox, of course, as well as Thunderbird, but also "investing in community", "investing in responsible tech startups", "building open-source AI dev tools", and "improving the open-source AI stack." "Of course," Mozilla says, "big tech has bigger assets. But that doesn't mean we can't challenge them. Our assets are aimed at helping a whole ecosystem grow -- and at creating an alliance that can transform tech." Despite people not liking movement towards AI, Mozilla is angling this as in line with how it's always been, because it's sticking to its original manifesto, in particular a few principles: human agency, decentralisation and open-source, a balance of commercial and public benefit. Its new focus fits in with what Mozilla claims is a direction that maintains "a 'double bottom line' -- advancing our mission and shaping markets." Mozilla started, it argues, by challenging Microsoft's dominance in the browser market with a "rebel alliance", and so now it is simply aiming to do the same, but to Big Tech in the world of AI: "Twenty-five years ago, the global open source community rewrote the rules of the internet. Mozilla was a part of this. Together, we proved that an open, values-driven approach to technology could win -- not just morally, but in the marketplace. We can do it again for AI. " ... It wasn't just idealism that broke Microsoft's stranglehold over the web -- it was innovation; experimentation; participation; and a rebel alliance of programmers, developers, activists, investors and coders who built something new, together ... This philosophy of 'invest in the rebel alliance' is at the heart of who Mozilla is today -- and how we think we can drive change." One of the parts of this "rebel alliance" is presumably the company's new 'Pioneers' program, which is looking to pay people to come up with ideas and build products with them on a short-term paid basis (with the hopeful opportunity to switch to a permanent role). Part of the focus of the Pioneers program and also of Mozilla's wider roadmap is a focus on open technology, i.e. open-source software. This gels with a lot of what we're seeing at the moment; for instance, with the EU and considering how Linux is marching forward with quite some pace. It's a nice direction to go in, of course, if it's not all talk. And that's the question, I suppose. There does seem to be somewhat of an air of techno-determinism about all this: 'If you can't beat them, join them, but do it more ethically because it's going to happen anyway.' Which is exactly the same kind of argument we've seen made by tech companies before that then ended up going in a different direction (*cough* OpenAI *cough*). I suppose time will tell.