fidzu : thunderbird

The future of intelligence is being set right now, and the path we're on leads somewhere I don't want to go. We're drifting toward a world where intelligence is something you rent - where your ability to reason, create, and decide flows through systems you don't control, can't inspect, and didn't shape. In that world, the landlord can change the terms anytime, and you have no recourse but to accept what you're given.

I think we can do better. Making that happen is now central to what Mozilla is doing.

What we did for the web

Twenty-five years ago, Microsoft Internet Explorer controlled 95% of the browser market, which meant Microsoft controlled how most people experienced the internet and who could build what on what terms. Mozilla was born to change this, and Firefox succeeded beyond what most people thought possible - dropping Internet Explorer's market share to 55% in just a few years and ushering in the Web 2.0 era. The result was a fundamentally different internet. It was faster and richer for everyday users, and for developers it was a launchpad for open standards and open source that decentralized control over the core technologies of the web.

There's a reason the browser is called a "user agent." It was designed to be on your side - blocking ads, protecting your privacy, giving you choices that the sites you visited never would have offered on their own. That was the first fight, and we held the line for the open web even as social networks and mobile platforms became walled gardens.

Now AI is becoming the new intermediary. It's what I've started calling "Layer 8" - the agentic layer that mediates between you and everything else on the internet. These systems will negotiate on our behalf, filter our information, shape our recommendations, and increasingly determine how we interact with the entire digital world.

The question we have to ask is straightforward: Whose side will your new user agent be on?

Why closed systems are winning (for now)

We need to be honest about the current state of play: Closed AI systems are winning today because they are genuinely easier to use. If you're a developer with an idea you want to test, you can have a working prototype in minutes using a single API call to one of the major providers. GPUs, models, hosting, guardrails, monitoring, billing - it all comes bundled together in a package that just works. I understand the appeal firsthand, because I've made the same choice myself on late-night side projects when I just wanted the fastest path from an idea in my head to something I could actually play with.

The open-source AI ecosystem is a different story. It's powerful and advancing rapidly, but it's also deeply fragmented - models live in one repository, tooling in another, and the pieces you need for evaluation, orchestration, guardrails, memory, and data pipelines are scattered across dozens of independent projects with different assumptions and interfaces. Each component is improving at remarkable speed, but they rarely integrate smoothly out of the box, and assembling a production-ready stack requires expertise and time that most teams simply don't have to spare. This is the core challenge we face, and it's important to name it clearly: What we're dealing with isn't a values problem where developers are choosing convenience over principle. It's a developer experience problem. And developer experience problems can be solved.

The ground is already shifting

We've watched this dynamic play out before and the history is instructive. In the early days of the personal computer, open systems were rough, inconsistent, and difficult to use, while closed platforms offered polish and simplicity that made them look inevitable. Openness won anyway - not because users cared about principles, but because open systems unlocked experimentation and scale that closed alternatives couldn't match. The same pattern repeated on the web, where closed portals like AOL and CompuServe dominated the early landscape before open standards outpaced them through sheer flexibility and the compounding benefits of broad participation.

AI has the potential to follow the same path - but only if someone builds it. And several shifts are already reshaping the landscape:

• Small models have gotten remarkably good. 1 to 8 billion parameters, tuned for specific tasks - and they run on hardware that organizations already own;
• The economics are changing too. As enterprises feel the constraints of closed dependencies, self-hosting is starting to look like sound business rather than ideological commitment (companies like Pinterest have attributed millions of dollars in savings to migrating to open-source AI infrastructure);
• Governments want control over their supply chain. Governments are becoming increasingly unwilling to depend on foreign platforms for capabilities they consider strategically important, driving demand for sovereign systems; and,
• Consumer expectations keep rising. People want AI that responds instantly, understands their context, and works across their tools without locking them into a single platform.

The capability gap that once justified the dominance of closed systems is closing fast. What remains is a gap in usability and integration. The lesson I take from history is that openness doesn't win by being more principled than the alternatives. Openness wins when it becomes the better deal - cheaper, more capable, and just as easy to use

Where the cracks are forming

If openness is going to win, it won't happen everywhere at once. It will happen at specific tipping points - places where the defaults haven't yet hardened, where a well-timed push can change what becomes normal. We see four.

The first is developer experience. Developers are the ones who actually build the future - every default they set, every stack they choose, every dependency they adopt shapes what becomes normal for everyone else. Right now, the fastest path runs through closed APIs, and that's where most of the building is happening. But developers don't want to be locked in any more than users do. Give them open tools that work as well as the closed ones, and they'll build the open ecosystem themselves.

The second is data. For a decade, the assumption has been that data is free to scrape - that the web is a commons to be harvested without asking. That norm is breaking, and not a moment too soon. The people and communities who create valuable data deserve a say in how it's used and a share in the value it creates. We're moving toward a world of licensed, provenance-based, permissioned data. The infrastructure for that transition is still being built, which means there's still a chance to build it right.

The third is models. The dominant architecture today favors only the biggest labs, because only they can afford to train massive dense transformers. But the edges are accelerating: small models, mixtures of experts, domain-specific models, multilingual models. As these approaches mature, the ability to create and customize intelligence spreads to communities, companies, and countries that were previously locked out.

The fourth is compute. This remains the choke point. Access to specialized hardware still determines who can train and deploy at scale. More doors need to open - through distributed compute, federated approaches, sovereign clouds, idle GPUs finding productive use.

What an open stack could look like

Today's dominant AI platforms are building vertically integrated stacks: closed applications on top of closed models trained on closed data, running on closed compute. Each layer reinforces the next - data improves models, models improve applications, applications generate more data that only the platform can use. It's a powerful flywheel. If it continues unchallenged, we arrive at an AI era equivalent to AOL, except far more centralized. You don't build on the platform; you build inside it.

There's another path. The sum of Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP won because that combination became easier to use than the proprietary alternatives, and because they let developers build things that no commercial platform would have prioritized. The web we have today exists because that stack existed.

We think AI can follow the same pattern. Not one stack controlled by any single party, but many stacks shaped by the communities, countries, and companies that use them:

• Open developer interfaces at the top. SDKs, guardrails, workflows, and orchestration that don't lock you into a single vendor;
• Open data standards underneath. Provenance, consent, and portability built in by default, so you know where your training data came from and who has rights to it;
• An open model ecosystem below that. Smaller, specialized, interchangeable models that you can inspect, tune to your values, and run where you need them; and
• Open compute infrastructure at the foundation. Distributed and federated hardware across cloud and edge, not routed through a handful of hyperscn/lallers.

Pieces of this stack already exist - good ones, built by talented people. The task now is to fill in the gaps, connect what's there, and make the whole thing as easy to use as the closed alternatives. That's the work.

Why open source matters here

If you've followed Mozilla, you know the Manifesto. For almost 20 years, it's guided what we build and how - not as an abstract ideal, but as a tool for making principled decisions every single day. Three of its principles are especially urgent in the age of AI:

• Human agency. In a world of AI agents, it's more important than ever that technology lets people shape their own experiences - and protects privacy where it matters most;
• Decentralization and open source. An open, accessible internet depends on innovation and broad participation in how technology gets created and used. The success of open-source AI, built around transparent community practices, is critical to making this possible; and
• Balancing commercial and public benefit. The direction of AI is being set by commercial players. We need strong public-benefit players to create balance in the overall ecosystem.

Open-source AI is how these principles become real. It's what makes plurality possible - many intelligences shaped by many communities, not one model to rule them all. It's what makes sovereignty possible - owning your infrastructure rather than renting it. And it's what keeps the door open for public-benefit alternatives to exist alongside commercial ones.

What we'll do in 2026

The window to shape these defaults is still open, but it won't stay open forever. Here's where we're putting our effort - not because we have all the answers, but because we think these are the places where openness can still reset the defaults before they harden.

Make open AI easier than closed. Mozilla.ai is building any-suite, a modular framework that integrates the scattered components of the open AI stack - model routing, evaluation, guardrails, memory, orchestration - into something coherent that developers can actually adopt without becoming infrastructure specialists. The goal is concrete: Getting started with open AI should feel as simple as making a single API call.

Shift the economics of data. The Mozilla Data Collective is building a marketplace for data that is properly licensed, clearly sourced, and aligned with the values of the communities it comes from. It gives developers access to high-quality training data while ensuring that the people and institutions who contribute that data have real agency and share in the economic value it creates.

Learn from real deployments. Strategy that isn't grounded in practical experience is just speculation, so we're deepening our engagement with governments and enterprises adopting sovereign, auditable AI systems. These engagements are the feedback loops that tell us where the stack breaks and where openness needs reinforcement.

Invest in the ecosystem. We're not just building; we're backing others who are building too. Mozilla Ventures is investing in open-source AI companies that align with these principles. Mozilla Foundation is funding researchers and projects through targeted grants. We can't do everything ourselves, and we shouldn't try. The goal is to put resources behind the people and teams already doing the work.

Show up for the community. The open-source AI ecosystem is vast, and it's hard to know what's working, what's hype, and where the real momentum is building. We want to be useful here. We're launching a newsletter to track what's actually happening in open AI. We're running meetups and hackathons to bring builders together. We're fielding developer surveys to understand what people actually need. And at MozFest this year, we're adding a dedicated developer track focused on open-source AI. If you're doing important work in this space, we want to help it find the people who need to see it.

Are you in?

Mozilla is one piece of a much larger movement, and we have no interest in trying to own or control it - we just want to help it succeed. There's a growing community of people who believe the open internet is still worth defending and who are working to ensure that AI develops along a different path than the one the largest platforms have laid out. Not everyone in that community uses the same language or builds exactly the same things, but something like a shared purpose is emerging. Mozilla sees itself as part of that effort.

We kept the web open not by asking anyone's permission, but by building something that worked better than the alternatives. We're ready to do that again.

So: Are you in?

If you're a developer building toward an open source AI future, we want to work with you. If you're a researcher, investor, policymaker, or founder aligned with these goals, let's talk. If you're at a company that wants to build with us rather than against us, the door is open. Open alternatives have to exist - that keeps everyone honest.

The future of intelligence is being set now. The question is whether you'll own it, or rent it.

We're launching a newsletter to track what's happening in open-source AI - what's working, what's hype, and where the real momentum is building. Sign up here to follow along as we build.

Read more here about our emerging strategy, and how we're rewiring Mozilla for the era of AI.

The post Owners, not renters: Mozilla's open source AI strategy appeared first on The Mozilla Blog.

08 Jan 2026 7:05pm GMT

While nearly half of all Firefox users have installed an add-on, it's safe to say nearly all Firefox staffers use add-ons. I polled a few of my peers and here are some of our staff favorite add-ons of 2025…

Falling Snow Animated Theme

Enjoy the soothing mood of Falling Snow Animated Theme. This motion-animated dark theme turns Firefox into a calm wintry night as snowflakes cascade around the corners of your browser.

Privacy Badger

The flagship anti-tracking extension from privacy proponents at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Privacy Badger is built to look for a certain set of actions that indicate a web page is trying to secretly track you.

Zero set up required. Just install Privacy Badger and it will automatically search for third-party cookies, HTML5 local storage "supercookies," canvas fingerprinting, and other sneaky tracking methods.

Adaptive Tab Bar Color

Turn Firefox into an internet chameleon. Adaptive Tab Bar Color changes the colors of Firefox to match whatever website you're visiting.

It's beautifully simple and sublime. No setup required, but you're free to make subtle adjustments to color contrast patterns and assign specific colors for websites.

Rainy Spring Sakura by MaDonna

Created by one of the most prolific theme designers in the Firefox community, MaDonna, we love Rainy Spring Sakura's bucolic mix of calming colors.

It's like instant Zen mode for Firefox.

Return YouTube Dislike

Do you like the Dislike? YouTube removed the thumbs-down display, but fortunately Return YouTube Dislike came along to restore our view into the sometimes brutal truth of audience sentiment.

Other Firefox users seem to agree…

"Does exactly what the name suggests. Can't see myself without this extension. Seriously, bad move on YouTube for removing such a vital tool."

Firefox user OFG

"i have never smashed 5 stars faster."

Firefox user 12918016

<figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Return YouTube Dislike re-enables a beloved feature.</figcaption>

LeechBlock NG

Block time-wasting websites with LeechBlock NG - easily one of our staff-favorite productivity tools.

Lots of customization features help you stay focused and free from websites that have a way of dragging you down. Key features:

• Block entire websites or just portions (e.g. allow YouTube video pages but block the homepage)
• Block websites based on time of day, day of the week, or both
• Time limit customization (e.g. only 1 hour of Reddit per day)

DarkSpaceBlue

Drift through serene outer space as you browse the web. DarkSpaceBlue celebrates the infinite wonder of life among the stars.

LanguageTool - Grammar and Spell Checker

Improve your prose anywhere you write on the web. LanguageTool - Grammar and Spell Checker will make you a better writer in 25+ languages.

Much more than a basic spell checker, this privacy-centric writing aid is packed with great features:

• Offers alternate phrasing for brevity and clarity
• Recognizes common misuses of similar sounding words (e.g. there/their, your/you're)
• Works with all web-based email and social media
• Provides synonyms for overused words

<figcaption class="wp-element-caption">LanguageTool can help with subtle syntax improvements. </figcaption>

Sink It for Reddit!

Imagine a more focused and free feeling Reddit - that's Sink It for Reddit!

Some of our staff-favorite features include:

• Custom content muting (e.g. ad blocking, remove app install and login prompts)
• Color-coded comments
• Streamlined navigation
• Adaptive dark mode

Sushi Nori

Turns out we have quite a few sushi fans at Firefox. We celebrate our love of sushi with the savory theme Sushi Nori.

08 Jan 2026 2:59pm GMT

A Year in Data

As is tradition, we're wrapping up 2025 for Mozilla's localization efforts and offering a sneak peek at what's in store for 2026 (you can find last year's blog post here).

Pontoon's metrics in 2025 show a stable picture for both new sign-ups and monthly active users. While we always hope to see signs of strong growth, this flat trend is a positive achievement when viewed against the challenges surrounding community involvement in Open Source, even beyond Mozilla. Thank you to everyone actively participating on Pontoon, Matrix, and elsewhere for making Mozilla localization such an open and welcoming community.

• 30 projects and 469 locales (+100 compared to 2024) set up in Pontoon.
• 5,019 new user registrations
• 1,190 active users, submitting at least one translation, on average 233 users per month (+5% Year-over-Year)
• 551,378 submitted translations (+18% YoY)
• 472,195 approved translations (+22% YoY)
• 13,002 new strings to translate (-38% YoY).

The number of strings added has decreased significantly overall, but not for Firefox, where the number of new strings was 60% higher than in 2024 (check out the increase of Fluent strings alone). That is not surprising, given the amount of new features (selectable profiles, unified trust panel, backup) and the upcoming settings redesign.

As in 2024, the relentless growth in the number of locales is driven by Common Voice, which now has 422 locales enabled in Pontoon (+33%).

Before we move forward, thank you to all the volunteers who contributed their time, passion, and expertise to Mozilla's localization over the last 12 months - or plan to do so in 2026. There is always space for new contributors!

Pontoon Development

A significant part of the work on Pontoon in 2025 isn't immediately visible to users, but it lays the groundwork for improvements that will start showing up in 2026.

One of the biggest efforts was switching to a new data model to represent all strings across all supported formats. Pontoon currently needs to handle around ten different formats, as transparently as possible for localizers, and this change is a step to reduce complexity and technical debt. As a concrete outcome, we can now support proper pluralization in Android projects, and we landed the first string using this model in Firefox 146. This removes long-standing UX limitations (no more Bookmarks saved: %1$s instead of %1$s bookmarks saved) and allows languages to provide more natural-sounding translations.

In parallel, we continued investing in a unified localization library, moz-l10n, with the goal of having a centralized, well-maintained place to handle parsing and serialization across formats in both JavaScript and Python. This work is essential to keep Pontoon maintainable as we add support for new technologies and workflows.

Pontoon as a project remains very active. In 2025 alone, Pontoon saw more than 200 commits from over 20 contributors, not including work happening in external libraries such as moz-l10n.

Finally, we've been improving API support, another area that is largely invisible to end users. We moved away from GraphQL and migrated to Django REST, and we're actively working toward feature parity with Transvision to better support automation and integrations.

Community

Our main achievement in 2025 was organizing a pilot in-person event in Berlin, reconnecting localizers from around Europe after a long hiatus. Fourteen volunteers from 11 locales spent a weekend together at the Mozilla Berlin office, sharing ideas, discussing challenges, and deepening relationships that had previously existed only online. For many attendees, this was the first time they met fellow contributors they had collaborated with for years, and the energy and motivation that came out of those days clearly showed the value of human connection in sustaining our global community.

This doesn't mean we stopped exploring other ways to connect. For example, throughout the year we continued publishing Contributor Spotlights, showcasing the amazing work of individual volunteers from different parts of the world. These stories highlight not just what our contributors do, but who they are and why they make Mozilla's localization work possible.

Internally, these spotlights have played an important role for advocating on behalf of the community. By bringing real voices and contributions to the forefront, we've helped reinforce the message that investing in people - not just tools - is essential to the long-term health of Mozilla's localization ecosystem.

What's coming in 2026

As we move into the new year, our focus will shift to exploring alternative deployment solutions. Our goal is to make Pontoon faster, more reliable, and better equipped to meet the needs of our users.

This excerpt comes from last year's blog post, and while it took longer than expected, the good news is that we're finally there. On January 6, we moved Pontoon to a new hosting platform. We expect this change to bring better reliability and performance, especially in response to peaks in bot traffic that have previously made Pontoon slow or unresponsive.

In parallel, we "silently" launched the Mozilla Language Portal, a unified hub that reflects Mozilla's unique approach to localization while serving as a central resource for the global translator community. While we still plan to expand its content, the main infrastructure is now in place and publicly available, bringing together searchable translation memories, documentation, blog posts, and other resources to support knowledge-sharing and collaboration.

On the technology side, we plan to extend plural support to iOS projects and continue improving Pontoon's translation memory support. These improvements aim to make it easier to reuse translations across projects and formats, for example by matching strings independently of placeholder syntax differences, and to translate Fluent strings with multiple values.

We also aim to explore improvements in our machine translation options, evaluating how large language models could help with quality assessment or serve as alternative providers for MT suggestions.

Last but not least, we plan to keep investing in our community. While we don't know yet what that will look like in practice, keep an eye on this blog for updates.

If you have any thoughts or ideas about this plan, let us know on Mastodon or Matrix!

Thank you!

As we look toward 2026, we're grateful for the people who make Mozilla's localization possible. Through shared effort and collaboration, we'll continue breaking down barriers and building a web that works for everyone. Thank you for being part of this journey.

07 Jan 2026 1:51pm GMT