News - The Mozilla Blog https://blog.mozilla.org/en/category/mozilla/news/ News and Updates about Mozilla Tue, 13 Aug 2024 07:57:22 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3.5 BAFTA Award-Winner Siobhán McSweeney to host Mozilla’s 2nd Annual Rise25 Awards in Dublin, Ireland on Aug. 13 https://blog.mozilla.org/en/mozilla/bafta-award-winner-siobhan-mcsweeney-to-host-mozillas-2nd-annual-rise25-awards-in-dublin-ireland-on-august-13/ Wed, 24 Jul 2024 07:00:00 +0000 https://blog.mozilla.org/?p=75624 Following the news of our 25 honorees for The 2nd Annual Rise25 Awards, Mozilla is thrilled to announce that actress and presenter Siobhán McSweeney will be hosting this year’s ceremony which will celebrate these individuals for leading the next wave of AI. The Irish actress, best known for her BAFTA award-winning performance as Sister Michael […]

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Following the news of our 25 honorees for The 2nd Annual Rise25 Awards, Mozilla is thrilled to announce that actress and presenter Siobhán McSweeney will be hosting this year’s ceremony which will celebrate these individuals for leading the next wave of AI. The Irish actress, best known for her BAFTA award-winning performance as Sister Michael in Channel 4’s (Netflix in the U.S.) series “Derry Girls” and most recently in Hulu’s “Extraordinary,” will take the helm during this year’s ceremony which will take place the evening of Tuesday, August 13 at the Convention Centre in Dublin, Ireland

“I’m so excited to host these awards. AI is one of the biggest issues facing us, not only in my industry but across the board. To recognise and award individuals who are working for the benefit of society and not corporations is a great honor,” said McSweeney. She continued: “I’m so looking forward to meeting them. And having them explain what AI is.”

Rise25 is more than an award ceremony—it’s a platform to spark discussion, forge connections and inspire a wave of new ideas that will shape the future of AI. Siobhán’s contributions to television and theater, characterized by depth and charisma, make her an ideal voice to help us highlight these themes.

“The Rise25 awards are committed to bridging the gap between complex technological innovations and the very human stories at their core,” said Mark Surman, President of Mozilla. “Ms. McSweeney’s portrayal of Sister Michael in ’Derry Girls’ has left a lasting impression on audiences around the world (we’re big fans!). Her ability to deliver lines with sharp wit, while maintaining a warm presence, perfectly encapsulates the blend of insight and approachability we covet at our event.”

The awards show will also feature a special performance by Galway, Ireland-based Irish dancers The Gardiner Brothers. The American-born Irish dancers have won over 40 major Irish dancing titles between them and have performed to audiences all over the globe, including with the world famous Riverdance cast. They are known for their fast paced and rhythmic style of dance that they developed after training at the Hession School of Irish Dance in Galway, Ireland.

Bridget Todd, host of Mozilla’s Webby Award-winning “IRL” podcast, will be on hand to present the award categories at this year’s ceremony. Bridget is also the host of the iHeart Radio Podcast Award-winning podcast “There Are No Girls On The Internet,” and is a Shorty Award winner for “Best Podcast Miniseries” for DISINFORMED, a miniseries exploring how misinformation, and conspiracy theories around COVID, gender, and race hurt marginalized communities. Bridget’s writing and work on technology, race, gender and culture have been featured at The Atlantic, Newsweek, “The Daily Show” and more.

Mozilla’s 2nd Annual Rise25 Awards build upon the success of last year’s Rise25 Awards which were held in Berlin, Germany, bringing to life what a future trustworthy Internet could look like.

This year’s awards ceremony will be available on demand on Mozilla’s YouTube channel the morning of Friday, August 16, 2024. For more information, please visit https://rise25.mozilla.org/ 

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Here’s what we’re working on in Firefox https://blog.mozilla.org/en/mozilla/heres-what-were-working-on-in-firefox/ Mon, 15 Jul 2024 18:16:38 +0000 https://blog.mozilla.org/?p=75025 We recently shared a number of updates with our community of users, and now we want to share them here: At Mozilla, we work hard to make Firefox the best browser for you. That’s why we’re always focused on building a browser that empowers you to choose your own path, that gives you the freedom […]

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We recently shared a number of updates with our community of users, and now we want to share them here:

At Mozilla, we work hard to make Firefox the best browser for you. That’s why we’re always focused on building a browser that empowers you to choose your own path, that gives you the freedom to explore without worry or compromises. We’re excited to share more about the updates and improvements we have in store for you over the next year.

Bringing you the features you’ve been asking for

We’ve been listening to your feedback, and we’re prioritizing the features you want most.

  • Productivity boosters like
    • Tab Grouping, Vertical Tabs, and our handy Sidebar will help you stay organized no matter how many tabs you have open — whether it’s 7 or 7,500. 
    • Plus, our new Profile Management system will help keep your school, work, and personal browsing separate but easily accessible. 
  • Customizable new tab wallpapers that will let you choose from a diverse range of photography, colors, and abstract images that suits you most. 
  • Intuitive privacy settings that deliver all the power of our world-class anti-tracking technologies in a simplified, easy-to-understand way.
  • More streamlined menus that reduce visual clutter and prioritize top user actions so you can get to the important things quicker.

Continuous work on speed, performance and compatibility

Speed is everything when you’re online, so we’re continuing to work hard to make Firefox as fast and efficient as possible. You can expect even faster, smoother browsing on Firefox, thanks to quicker page loads and startup times – all while saving more of your phone’s battery life. We’ve already improved responsiveness by 20 percent as measured by Speedometer 3, a collaboration we’ve spearheaded with other leading tech companies. And in that collaborative spirit, we’re also working with the Interop project to make it easy for people to build sites that work great across all browsers. We value your support in our efforts to improve cross-browser compatibility which is why we’ve added new features to easily report when websites aren’t working quite right; this feedback is critical as we look to address even small functionality issues that affect your day-to-day online experience.

Making the most of your time online — without sacrifice

Ensuring your privacy is core to everything we do at Firefox. Unlike other companies, who ask you to exchange your data in order to do even basic, everyday things online — you don’t have to give up your personal information to get a faster, more efficient browser experience with Firefox. Reading a news story in a different language or signing a form for school or work shouldn’t require you to give up your privacy. So, we’ve worked hard to make things like translation and PDF editing in Firefox happen locally on your device, so you don’t have to ship off your personal data to a server farm for a company to use it how they see fit — to keep tabs on you, sell your information to the highest bidder, or train their AI. With Firefox, you have a lot of choice — but you don’t have to choose between utility and privacy. Your data is secure, and most importantly, just yours.

We are approaching the use of AI in Firefox — which many, many of you have been asking about — in the same way. We’re focused on giving you AI features that solve tangible problems, respect your privacy, and give you real choice.

We’re looking at how we can use local, on-device AI models — i.e., more private — to enhance your browsing experience further. One feature we’re starting with next quarter is AI-generated alt-text for images inserted into PDFs, which makes it more accessible to visually impaired users and people with learning disabilities.

Join us on this journey

Our progress is driven by a vibrant community of users and developers like you. We encourage you to contribute to our open-source projects and to engage with us on Mozilla Connect or Discourse, and check out our recent AMA on Reddit. Your participation is crucial in shaping what Firefox becomes next.

Get Firefox

Get the browser that protects what’s important

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Fakespot reveals the product categories with the most and least reliable product reviews https://blog.mozilla.org/en/mozilla/news/fakespot-reveals-the-product-categories-with-the-most-and-least-reliable-product-reviews-for-summer-and-back-to-school-shopping/ Fri, 12 Jul 2024 13:00:00 +0000 https://blog.mozilla.org/?p=75532 Today, Fakespot, a free browser extension and website that protects consumers from unreliable reviews and sellers, announced the Amazon product categories with the most reliable and unreliable reviews, just in time for the big summer sales and back-to-school shopping season. “We’re all about helping you shop smarter, especially during this month’s summer sales and the […]

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Today, Fakespot, a free browser extension and website that protects consumers from unreliable reviews and sellers, announced the Amazon product categories with the most reliable and unreliable reviews, just in time for the big summer sales and back-to-school shopping season.

“We’re all about helping you shop smarter, especially during this month’s summer sales and the upcoming back-to-school season,” said Saoud Khalifah, co-founder and director of Fakespot. “Our latest report shows just how crucial it is to check those reviews, especially in categories flooded with unreliable reviews. By spotlighting both the best and worst categories, we give you the tools to shop with confidence.”

Since 2016, Fakespot has empowered millions of shoppers to make well-informed purchases using advanced AI technology. Its AI engine analyzes reviews, filters out unreliable ones and gives shoppers a true understanding of the quality of a product and the seller, so they can feel confident about their decisions. As a free browser extension available on most web browsers, Fakespot analyzes reviews from top e-commerce sites like Amazon, Best Buy, Sephora and Walmart, providing the most reliable product information before you buy. Bonus: The extension also provides seller ratings on Shopify-powered web stores.

When it comes to online shopping, knowing which products are trustworthy can save time and money. We are sharing our latest findings just in time for the shopping season. Our latest analysis has revealed some surprising and noteworthy stats (June 1, 2023 through May 31, 2024). Here are the most reliable and least reliable popular product categories:

Shop with confidence: Top 5 categories you can trust 

Shop confidently with these top-rated products. These categories earned Fakespot Grades of B or better for reliability.

  1. Apple products: With an impressive 84% of reviews being genuine, Apple products stand out as a top choice for reliability. Only a tiny 5% of reviews are marked as unreliable.
  2. Video game chairs: Gamers, rejoice! 84% of reviews for video game chairs are trustworthy, making this a solid category for your next purchase.
  3. Books: Book lovers can breathe easy, as 81% of book reviews are authentic. Even with a whopping 2,907 products reviewed, books maintain a high standard of reliability.
  4. Computers: Tech enthusiasts, take note. Computers come in with 79% genuine reviews, ensuring you get the real scoop before buying.
  5. Home Office Desks: Perfect for remote work and homework, with 68% of reviews being legit.

Shop carefully: Top 5 categories to watch out for 

Shop carefully and think twice before purchasing from these categories. These product categories have a Fakespot Review Grade of D or lower.

  1. Slides: A staggering 75% of reviews for slides are unreliable, making it the least reliable category in our study.
  2. Pajamas: Cozy up with caution, as 62% of pajama reviews aren’t genuine.
  3. Basketball: Sports gear shoppers should be wary, with 61% of basketball-related product reviews being unreliable.
  4. Stick vacuums and electric brooms: Housekeeping might need a bit more homework, with 57% unreliable reviews in this category.
  5. Fashion hoodies and sweatshirts: Fashion fans, beware. Over half (57%) of reviews in this category are not reliable, despite the large number of products reviewed (6,078).

Millions of Fakespot users depend on Fakespot’s Review Grade to help determine the reliability of the product reviews and seller. It follows the standard grading system of “A”, “B”, “C”, “D”, or “F” and represents the following:

  • Fakespot Review Grade A and B: These grades represent reliable reviews.
  • Fakespot Review Grade C: This grade should be approached with caution, as it includes a mix of reliable and unreliable reviews.
  • Fakespot Review Grade D and F: These grades are considered unreliable.

We know just how crucial reliable reviews are in making informed purchasing decisions. Fakespot’s study sheds light on which categories are more prone to review manipulation, helping consumers make smarter, more informed choices.

So, whether it’s deal days or early back-to-school shopping, be sure to download Fakespot whenever you shop online. 

A check mark next to the text "Fakespot."

Shop confidently with Fakespot. Download the latest version today.

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Engaging with our Firefox community: Highlights from our recent AMA  https://blog.mozilla.org/en/products/firefox/engaging-with-our-firefox-community-highlights-from-our-recent-ama/ Tue, 09 Jul 2024 16:00:00 +0000 https://blog.mozilla.org/?p=75453 Recently, we shared our 2024 priorities for Firefox on Mozilla Connect, our dedicated space for engaging our community. It’s where we exchange ideas, gather feedback and spark discussions to shape future product releases. Eager to reach more of the community, the Firefox team hosted a two hour Ask Me Anything on Reddit. The AMA had […]

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Photos of the Firefox leadership executives holding signs with the date of the AMA

Recently, we shared our 2024 priorities for Firefox on Mozilla Connect, our dedicated space for engaging our community. It’s where we exchange ideas, gather feedback and spark discussions to shape future product releases. Eager to reach more of the community, the Firefox team hosted a two hour Ask Me Anything on Reddit.

The AMA had a great turnout of Firefox supporters keen to discuss topics like videos for new releases, performance enhancements and feature suggestions like automatic tab discarding. Here are some highlights: 

User interface and productivity enhancements 

Our community is enthusiastic about several upcoming features designed to improve productivity and customization. Our Tab Groups team is hard at work creating a better experience for people who need to manage many tabs. Additionally, we are also exploring modernizing a place where you’ll have access to better tools for viewing your browser history and bookmarks and providing a better interface for organizing tabs and windows across devices.

Performance and compatibility improvements 

Speed and efficiency remain top priorities. For Android users, enhancements focus on improving performance, battery life and adding new features. Site isolation (Fission) is also in progress for Android to boost security.

Media and accessibility features 

To enhance media playback, we’re exploring a contributor patch — a piece of code submitted by an external developer — for Picture-in-Picture (PiP) autoplay, a feature that allows video content to play in a small, resizable window that stays on top of other windows, which will automatically open a Picture-in-Picture window when navigating away from a media tab. On the accessibility front, we’re expanding our translation feature to include more languages, with new packages and support for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean in our pipeline.

We want to hear from you 

This was our first AMA in a while, and we’re interested in what you think. Did you find the AMA helpful? Was there anything we missed? How often should we host these sessions? Let us know by filling out this survey. If you missed the AMA, you can still check it out here.

These insights and feedback from our community are instrumental in guiding our efforts to make Firefox the best browser experience possible. Stay tuned for more on our next AMA as well as updated. Join us on Mozilla Connect to keep the conversation going!

Get Firefox

Get the browser that protects what’s important

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Mozilla announces finalists for the 2nd annual Rise25 Awards https://blog.mozilla.org/en/mozilla/mozilla-announces-finalists-for-the-2nd-annual-rise25-awards/ Tue, 25 Jun 2024 16:00:00 +0000 https://blog.mozilla.org/?p=75284 Mozilla is proud to announce the 25 honorees for The 2nd Annual Rise25 Awards, which will celebrate these individuals for leading the next wave of AI — using philanthropy, collective power, and the principles of open source to make sure the future of AI is responsible, trustworthy, inclusive and centered around human dignity. This year’s […]

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Mozilla is proud to announce the 25 honorees for The 2nd Annual Rise25 Awards, which will celebrate these individuals for leading the next wave of AI — using philanthropy, collective power, and the principles of open source to make sure the future of AI is responsible, trustworthy, inclusive and centered around human dignity. This year’s cohort will be honored during a special ceremony on the evening of Tuesday, August 13 at the Convention Centre in Dublin, Ireland

This year’s finalists were selected out of hundreds of nominees across five categories. Five winners were selected for each of the following categories:

Advocates Guiding AI towards a responsible future
These are the policymakers, activists, and thinkers ensuring AI is developed ethically, inclusively, and transparently. This category also includes those who are adept at translating complex AI concepts for the broader public — including journalists, content creators, and cultural commentators. They champion digital rights and accessible AI, striving to make AI a force for societal good.

Artists – Reimagining AI’s creative potential
Their work provokes thought and offers fresh perspectives on AI through storytelling across various mediums. Their projects challenge perceptions and show how AI can amplify human creativity. Some also use their craft to challenge the current state of AI and engage in conversations about ensuring technology is applied fairly and equitably.

Builders – Developing AI through ethical innovation
They are the architects of trustworthy AI, including engineers and data scientists dedicated to developing AI’s open-source language infrastructure. They focus on technical proficiency and responsible and ethical construction. Their work ensures AI is secure, accessible, and reliable, aiming to create tools that empower and advance society. 

Change Agents – Cultivating inclusive AI
They are challengers that lead the way in diversifying AI, bringing varied community voices into tech. They focus on inclusivity in AI development, ensuring technology serves and represents everyone, especially those historically excluded from the tech narrative. They are community leaders, corporate leaders, activists and outside-the-box thinkers finding ways to amplify the impacts of AI for marginalized communities. Their work fosters an AI environment of equality and empowerment.

Entrepreneurs – Fueling AI’s evolution with visionary ventures
These daring individuals are transforming imaginative ideas into reality. They’re crafting businesses and solutions with AI to meet societal needs, improve everyday life and forge new technological paths. They embody innovation, steering startups and projects with a commitment to ethical standards, inclusiveness and enhancing human welfare through technology.

“At Mozilla, we believe the most groundbreaking innovations arise when people of all kinds of backgrounds come together to collaborate and openly trade ideas,” said Mark Surman, President of Mozilla. “This approach to innovation — grounded in strong pillars of experimentation and community — has defined our work over the past 25 years, fueling global movements around open-source innovation, online privacy and trustworthy AI.”

This year’s awards build upon the success of last year’s Rise25 Awards which were held in Berlin, Germany, bringing to life what a future trustworthy Internet could look like. Last year’s event crowned trailblazers and visionaries who have since shared their inspiring stories in a video series airing across Mozilla channels.

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Introducing Anonym: Raising the bar for privacy-preserving digital advertising https://blog.mozilla.org/en/mozilla/mozilla-anonym-raising-the-bar-for-privacy-preserving-digital-advertising/ Mon, 17 Jun 2024 06:05:03 +0000 https://blog.mozilla.org/?p=75198 Mozilla has acquired Anonym, a trailblazer in privacy-preserving digital advertising. This strategic acquisition enables Mozilla to help raise the bar for the advertising industry by ensuring user privacy while delivering effective advertising solutions. The online advertising industry is undergoing a significant transformation. With growing consumer concerns and increasing scrutiny from regulators, it’s evident that current […]

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Mozilla has acquired Anonym, a trailblazer in privacy-preserving digital advertising. This strategic acquisition enables Mozilla to help raise the bar for the advertising industry by ensuring user privacy while delivering effective advertising solutions.

The online advertising industry is undergoing a significant transformation. With growing consumer concerns and increasing scrutiny from regulators, it’s evident that current data practices are excessive and unsustainable. We are at the forefront of a pivotal shift in how privacy and advertising coexist, reshaping the digital landscape for advertisers, platforms, and consumers.

Amidst this moment of change, Anonym stands out for its unique privacy-preserving technology. By securely combining encrypted data sets from platforms and advertisers, Anonym enables scalable, privacy-safe measurement and optimization of advertiser campaigns, thereby leading a shift toward a more sustainable advertising ecosystem.  

Here’s how it works:

  • Secure Environment: Data sets are matched in a highly secure environment, ensuring advertisers, publishers, and Anonym don’t access any user level data.
  • Anonymized Analytics: The process results in anonymized insights and models, helping advertisers measure and improve campaign performance while safeguarding consumer privacy.
  • Differential Privacy Algorithms: These algorithms add “noise” to the data, protecting it from being traced back to individual users.

This acquisition marks a significant step in addressing the urgent need for privacy-preserving advertising solutions. By combining Mozilla’s scale and trusted reputation with Anonym’s cutting-edge technology, we can enhance user privacy and advertising effectiveness, leveling the playing field for all stakeholders.

Anonym was founded with two core beliefs: First, that people have a fundamental right to privacy in online interactions and second, that digital advertising is critical for the sustainability of free content, services and experiences. Mozilla and Anonym share the belief that advanced technologies can enable relevant and measurable advertising while still preserving user privacy.

As we integrate Anonym into the Mozilla family, we are excited about the possibilities this partnership brings. While Anonym will continue to serve its customer base, together, we are poised to lead the industry toward a future where privacy and effective advertising go hand in hand, supporting a free and open internet.

About Anonym: Anonym was founded in 2022 by former Meta executives Brad Smallwood and Graham Mudd. The company was backed by Griffin Gaming Partners, Norwest Venture Partners, Heracles Capital as well as a number of strategic individual investors.

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Keeping GenAI technologies secure is a shared responsibility https://blog.mozilla.org/en/mozilla/keeping-genai-technologies-secure-is-a-shared-responsibility/ Wed, 05 Jun 2024 13:00:00 +0000 https://blog.mozilla.org/?p=75065 Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is reshaping our world, from streamlining work tasks like coding to helping us plan summer vacations. As we increasingly adopt GenAI services and tools, we also face the emerging risks of their malicious use. Security is crucial, as even one vulnerability can jeopardize users’ information or worse. However, securing GenAI is […]

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Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is reshaping our world, from streamlining work tasks like coding to helping us plan summer vacations. As we increasingly adopt GenAI services and tools, we also face the emerging risks of their malicious use. Security is crucial, as even one vulnerability can jeopardize users’ information or worse. However, securing GenAI is too vast and complex for a single entity to handle alone. Mozilla believes sharing this responsibility is essential to successfully keep people safe. 

The evolution of bug bounty programs

To combat both bugs and vulnerabilities, the concept of the bug bounty program – which incentivizes a community of independent participants to identify flaws and report them – was first launched in the mid-1990s by Netscape to crowd source bug discovery in the Netscape Navigator web browser. Fast forward to 2002 and the next generation of bounty programs was born when iDefense rolled out the Vulnerability Contributor Program (VCP), the first security-specific all-vendor public bounty program. Later, in 2005, TippingPoint introduced the Zero Day Initiative (ZDI) which follows the same model, allowing researchers from anywhere in the world to profit from their auditing research on nearly any technology vendor.

More recently, companies like HackerOne and BugCrowd have commoditized bounty programs, allowing participating companies to incentivize the community to report directly to them, versus going through an intermediary like the VCP or ZDI. Some GenAI companies are enrolled in these programs, providing bounties for defects found in supporting software, but not the models themselves. Others have hosted temporary model bounties while rapidly building their GenAI applications. However, this approach benefits their own models rather than the foundational technologies. As companies move at light speed to be the first to market, can we trust that they’ll work with the same scrutiny on security and consider future implications? History has demonstrated that this usually is an afterthought

0Din, the next generation bug bounty program 

As the technology landscape continues to evolve, we see the need for the next evolution in bug bounty programs, to further advance the GenAI ecosystem and address the flaws within the models themselves. These vulnerability classes include Prompt Injection, Training Data Poisoning, Denial of Service, and more. Today, we are investing in the next generation of GenAI security with the 0Day Investigative Network (0Din) by Mozilla, a bug bounty program for large language models (LLMs) and other deep learning technologies. 0Din expands the scope to identify and fix GenAI security by delving beyond the application layer with a focus on emerging classes of vulnerabilities and weaknesses in these new generations of models.

At Mozilla, we believe openness and collective participation are important in solving the emerging security challenges that lie ahead of us for GenAI. We have a long history of protecting users on the internet by building a secure and open-source browser, Firefox. We also have one of the first and longest-standing bug bounty programs on the web in order to encourage security researchers to report security vulnerabilities in the open. We know full well the power of working together as a community is one of the many ways to protect people. It’s been a part of our mission and we want to continue to advance this work. 

Our hope for this program is to help independent researchers with an opportunity to contribute to the development of new security frameworks and best practices tailored for large language models, attention-based systems and generative models. They will play a key role in defining and strengthening AI security standards thus shaping the future of secure GenAI technologies and how we use them in our daily lives. By addressing these challenges, Mozilla aims to protect users and inspire future generations of developers and researchers to make security and privacy a priority right from the start. 

Join our team to advance AI security

Researchers interested in submitting their findings to the program are welcome to start writing to us at 0din@mozilla.com (GPG key). If you’re looking to join the team, we are hiring! We’re looking for:

Advance GenAI security with us—apply now!

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Building open, private AI with the Mozilla Builders Accelerator https://blog.mozilla.org/en/mozilla/mozilla-builders-accelerator/ Mon, 03 Jun 2024 16:09:37 +0000 https://blog.mozilla.org/?p=75052 AI tools are more accessible than ever. Big tech companies have made this possible, but their focus on growth and monetization prioritizes large-scale products. This leaves smaller AI projects in the shadows, despite their potential to better serve individual needs. That’s why we’re excited to introduce the Mozilla Builders Accelerator. This program is designed to […]

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AI tools are more accessible than ever. Big tech companies have made this possible, but their focus on growth and monetization prioritizes large-scale products. This leaves smaller AI projects in the shadows, despite their potential to better serve individual needs.

That’s why we’re excited to introduce the Mozilla Builders Accelerator. This program is designed to empower independent AI and machine learning engineers with the resources and support they need to thrive. It aims to cultivate a more innovative AI ecosystem, and it’s one of Mozilla’s key initiatives to make AI meaningfully impactful — alongside efforts like Mozilla.ai, the Responsible AI Challenge and the Rise25 Awards.

The Mozilla Builders Accelerator’s inaugural theme is local AI, which involves running AI models and applications directly on personal devices like laptops, smartphones, or edge devices rather than depending on cloud-based services.

Up to $100,000 in funding 

Projects selected for the Mozilla Builders Accelerator are eligible to receive up to $100,000 in funding. We’re also creating an environment where independent developers can flourish. So in addition to financial backing, the Mozilla Builders Accelerator will offer mentorship, foster community engagement and provide increased visibility for projects. 

Participants will engage in a structured 12-week program focused on the design, build and test phases of their projects, followed by an alumni phase for ongoing support. The program will include instructional sessions, guided workshops and practical assignments. Additionally, there will be opportunities to showcase projects through Mozilla’s channels and events, culminating in a demo day.

Why local AI?

We chose Local AI as the theme for the Accelerator’s first cohort because it aligns with our core values of privacy, user empowerment, and open source innovation. This method offers several benefits including:

  • Privacy: Data stays on the local device, minimizing exposure to potential breaches and misuse.
  • Agency: Users have greater control over their AI tools and data.
  • Cost-effectiveness: Reduces reliance on expensive cloud infrastructure, lowering costs for developers and users.
  • Reliability: Local processing ensures continuous operation even without internet connectivity.

Mozilla’s commitment to open source and AI innovation

For over 25 years, Mozilla has championed the internet as a global public resource — open and accessible to everyone. This dedication has fostered a thriving community committed to innovation and collaboration. We believe the future of AI should be open, transparent and inclusive.

With initiatives like Mozilla.ai and Llamafile, we’ve made significant strides in advancing open source AI. The Mozilla Builders Accelerator is our next step in this journey. 

We invite AI and ML engineers dedicated to open source and local AI solutions to apply for the Mozilla Builders Accelerator. Join us in shaping the future of AI with openness and innovation at its core. Applications are open through Aug. 1, 2024. For more information and to apply, visit here.

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Mozilla Corporation org changes to accelerate our path to the future https://blog.mozilla.org/en/mozilla/mozilla-corporation-org-changes-to-accelerate-our-path-to-the-future/ Fri, 24 May 2024 18:31:25 +0000 https://blog.mozilla.org/?p=75021 Over the past few months, we’ve been accelerating our ability to execute outstandingly, make faster decisions, and realize our multi-product ambitions. To help facilitate this, I’m excited to announce an organizational change within the product team. This change will enable us to better develop and scale products at different stages of development and maturity. Today, […]

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Over the past few months, we’ve been accelerating our ability to execute outstandingly, make faster decisions, and realize our multi-product ambitions. To help facilitate this, I’m excited to announce an organizational change within the product team. This change will enable us to better develop and scale products at different stages of development and maturity.

Today, we have multiple groups across various teams working on new ideas and emerging products: Fakespot, PXI, Mozilla Social, and the Innovation Ecosystems team, plus some newer emerging pods around new product design sprints and ideation. To simplify and accelerate this work, we are consolidating our emerging and seed product portfolios under a single umbrella, led by Adam Fishman, as our SVP of New Products, reporting directly to me.  

By setting up Firefox as a standalone product organization, we will also be able to bring more focus to our continual efforts to improve the Firefox experience for everyone who uses it. Firefox is already a leader in foundational qualities like speed and privacy, and now we will be able to faster in developing solutions that bring more useful tools and more joyful experience to our users. Our recent announcement of new Firefox features is just the start, as we close in on Firefox’s 20th birthday in November.

I am really excited about these changes as they help us accelerate our path to a strong, multi-product future as we simultaneously expand on our investment in our flagship core product, Firefox.

Laura Chambers

CEO, Mozilla Corporation

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Releasing a new paper on openness and artificial intelligence https://blog.mozilla.org/en/mozilla/ai/new-framework-for-ai-openness-and-innovation/ Tue, 21 May 2024 16:00:00 +0000 https://blog.mozilla.org/?p=74918 For the past six months, the Columbia Institute of Global Politics and Mozilla have been working with leading AI scholars and practitioners to create a framework on openness and AI. Today, we are publishing a paper that lays out this new framework. During earlier eras of the internet, open source technologies played a core role […]

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For the past six months, the Columbia Institute of Global Politics and Mozilla have been working with leading AI scholars and practitioners to create a framework on openness and AI. Today, we are publishing a paper that lays out this new framework.

Banner reading "The Columbia Convening on Openness and AI" with logos of Mozilla and the Institute of Global Politics on a light blue background. Abstract design featuring green and white semi-circles is present.

During earlier eras of the internet, open source technologies played a core role in promoting innovation and safety. Open source technology provided a core set of building blocks that software developers have used to do everything from create art to design vaccines to develop apps that are used by people all over the world; it is estimated that open source software is worth over $8 trillion in value. And, attempts to limit open innovation — such as export controls on encryption in early web browsers — ended up being counterproductive, further exemplifying the value of openness. 

The paper surveys existing approaches to defining openness in AI models and systems, and then proposes a descriptive framework to understand how each component of the foundation model stack contributes to openness.

Today, open source approaches for artificial intelligence — and especially for foundation models —  offer the promise of similar benefits to society. However, defining and empowering “open source” for foundation models has proven tricky, given its significant differences from traditional software development. This lack of clarity has made it harder to recommend specific approaches and standards for how developers should advance openness and unlock its benefits. Additionally, these conversations about openness in AI have often operated at a high level, making it harder to reason about the benefits and risks from openness in AI. Some policymakers and advocates have blamed open access to AI as the source of certain safety and security risks, often without concrete or rigorous evidence to justify those claims. On the other hand, people often tout the benefits of openness in AI, but without specificity about how to actually harness those opportunities. 

That’s why, in February, Mozilla and the Columbia Institute of Global Politics brought together over 40 leading scholars and practitioners working on openness and AI for the Columbia Convening. These individuals — spanning prominent open source AI startups and companies, nonprofit AI labs, and civil society organizations — focused on exploring what “open” should mean in the AI era.

Today, we are publishing a paper that presents a framework for grappling with openness across the AI stack. The paper surveys existing approaches to defining openness in AI models and systems, and then proposes a descriptive framework to understand how each component of the foundation model stack contributes to openness. It enables — without prescribing — an analysis of how to unlock specific benefits from AI, based on desired model and system attributes. Furthermore, the paper also adds clarity to support further work on this topic, including work to develop stronger safety safeguards for open systems. 

A flowchart outlining various categories for AI development: Product/UX, Documentation, Model Components, Licensing, Infrastructure, and Safeguards, each with subcategories detailing specific items.
Framework from paper showing general-purpose AI system stack and dimensions of openness.

We believe this framework will support timely conversations around the technical and policy communities. For example, this week, as policymakers discuss AI policy at the AI Seoul Summit 2024, this framework can help clarify how openness in AI can support societal and political goals, including innovation, safety, competition, and human rights. And, as the technical community continues to build and deploy AI systems, this framework can support AI developers in ensuring their AI systems help achieve their intended goals, promote innovation and collaboration, and reduce harms. We look forward to working with the open source and AI community, as well as the policy and technical communities more broadly, to continue building on this framework going forward.

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