[ninkendo]

(This post is directed to all software that shoves features like this in my face, and especially Microsoft more than Firefox.)

My problem with all software that shoves these AI features in my face, is that I don’t use features under duress.

If you interrupt what I’m doing to push me to use a feature, I won’t use it. If you’re a web designer and you block the page to tell me to sign up for an account, I close the tab and vow to never create an account. If you stop what I’m doing to ask me to rate your app, I’m going to give it 1 star. Et cetera.

Now I’ll be the first to admit this is childish… it’s a flaw in my character. When I feel pushed, I push back, and software pushing me makes me irrationally angry for reasons I can’t quite articulate. In some ways I wish I wasn’t like this. But I can’t be alone. I’m certain there is a non-negligible number of people like me, and when a browser immediately shoves AI features in my face on first launch, well, the first thing I’m going to do is disable them.

The especially tragic part is that I personally find LLMs useful! And I’m at the point where I sorta want to install a Firefox extension for ChatGPT now. But the actual browser AI features were pushed on me in a way that made me feel violated, so I can’t use them on principle. Maybe in a few years I guess.

If instead these companies would just dial it back several notches, I would have had the curiosity to try these features out myself, and I’d likely be using them by now. But the way they’ve tried so hard to force them on me has destroyed my trust and now, not only am I not using whatever feature they promote, I hate their product more than I otherwise would.

Firefox isn’t actually that bad here, and now that there’s a simple kill switch, I may actually try their chatbot sidebar thing. But for companies like MS, I will never, ever, ever use any of their AI features for the reasons above. (I’ve literally uninstalled Windows now, it’s gotten so bad.)

[Sabinus]

How is a company supposed to accommodate your personality while also showing other user new features that Firefox just added to the browser? If you're a contrarian by nature Firefox can't help you nor change their strategy to suit you, because the majority of users aren't like you.

[ninkendo]

You never, ever need to interrupt the user or stop them from what they’re doing in order to show them some new feature.

Here’s what you do:

- Make a “what’s new” section in settings.

- Put a link in there that takes me to a webpage where I can see what’s new.

- That’s it.

Instead what always seems to happen is that I’m in the middle of trying to do something with the software and in order to do that I must close whatever popup you’re shoving in my face to tell me about the new feature. I don’t have time to read it now because I opened the software with an intention to finish a task and I don’t have time to read it now. And then later when I finally do have the time to look at your new feature? Nobody bothers actually putting that information anywhere persistent, so I guess I’m out of luck even if I care about the feature.

Updating to a new iOS version is a perfect example of this. Say there are a dozen apps that have a new feature popup on first launch when you update iOS. Imagine a typical day waking up and trying to use my phone. I have to drive somewhere so I try to put an address into Maps and have to immediately fend off the “what’s new in maps” dialog so I can type the address I need to go to. Then I want to put on the song my kid is yelling at me to play and have to fend off the “what’s new in Music” popup. Later I’m trying to respond to an important text and have to fend off “What’s new in messages”, etc etc etc.

That first day using iOS is an absolute nightmare because of this.

Now imagine the alternative: a simple badge icon in the settings app, and I tap it and see a link to “what’s new in iOS”, and guess what, it can be a fucking webpage! I can bookmark it! I can add it to my reading list and see it later! Hell, I can even share it with my friends!

But no, instead apps insist on trying to increase “engagement” with their new feature, because some PM’s promo packet wants to include “this many users used my new feature” and the only way they can think to do this is to (1) stop the user from accomplishing their task until they tap the cutesy “Got It!” button, and (2) don’t bother with persisting it anywhere, because the idea that the user doesn’t have time to check out the feature now is so foreign to these sociopaths it never even crossed their mind.

[neogodless]

Tragically, capitalism drives corporate behavior.

Whatever works for large numbers is what will happen.

But overall, you and I (and many) will try to push back and insist on consent.

The sign-up form with an unchecked "sign me up for your newsletter" option.

The first-run experience with a question... "do you want us to notify you of new features?"

But this is not the norm, and even if good actors get rewarded by a few childish customers, bad actors seem to get rewarded much more by a massive infusion of funds.