Is the AI Bubble Popping?
I write these reports daily. I look at a variety of sources, pick one that piques my interest or crosses several platforms (indicating its relevance or popularity) and summarize it in 400-750 words. The bite sized breakdown. I consider my job to be one where I simplify complex or highly technical topics so that the layperson – in this case, those who do not work in the industry or have the specialized training to know what all this jargon means – can clearly understand what is actually happening, or what they need to look out for. The sheer volume of research I do leads me to see patterns in the ebb and flow of digital habits, or predict outcomes that may not come to fruition for months.
In October of last year, I wrote a report that I titled We Have a (Dubious) Hammer, an opinion piece regarding the prevalent use of AI and LLMs and how it is affecting us as a society. It was the first post of mine to reach a significant number of impressions and views, and to this day is the only one over a thousand. All right, I hear you say, get to your point.
Today, while perusing Bleeping Computer, I had several related articles suggested to me after the one I was reading. Three – counting the one I’d clicked on initially – were about Grok and its ongoing woes. Another was still about Grok, but it was about a ‘tease’ from Elon Musk regarding its upcoming upgrade. The last was about an impending move from Mozilla to give Firefox users control over how many AI tools they see. On the surface, their relation to each other seems pretty easy to discern; they’re all about AI. But since I do the research so you don’t have to, I’m seeing something a little deeper.
Following that first explosive backlash of deepfake video creation, which I also covered, a number of countries have begun to take legal action against X. French prosecutors have initiated a criminal investigation into Grok, with a raid on the Paris office of X and a summoning of Elon Musk and X CEO Linda Yaccarino for voluntary interviews in April (here). The UK’s Information Commissioner's Office is examining the way X processes and uses personal data and how that relates to Grok (here). The European Commission is investigating whether X has violated the DSA (here, and mine here). Taken together, these investigations spell some trouble for X and Grok, whether that will be in fines levied against the social media giant, or criminal charges. The AI chatbox has already been blocked in several countries, heading up what I think may become a trend moving forward.
Because now we come to Mozilla’s announcement. ‘In response to user feedback on AI integration’, as the article says, users will have the option to manage AI features individually, or turn them off entirely. Citing that control over privacy, data use and AI must be clear, understandable and transparent, this change will occur with the scheduled upgrade to Firefox 148 on February 24th. And while the statement from Mozilla did not give specifics on that feedback, DuckDuckGo recently ran a public poll asking how users felt about AI features and whether or not they wanted them. A staggeringly overwhelming number said no. Over 95% at the time I voted on it. Discord did a similar poll and opposition was so high that it was taken down in less than 24 hours.
The users are speaking, and they do not want AI. They do not want visual media that skirts, or outright crosses, the line of legality. Not to mention the infringement of propriety. They do not want their data scraped, recorded and publicly accessible without their consent. They do not want search engines that aggregate a summary instead of giving them the information they’re looking for. Or results with such a high degree of inaccuracy that some are completely fabricated and nonsensical. They do not want the evolution of prompt injection malware, even if they don’t fully understand what it is. Billions upon billions of dollars have been sunk into tools that no one outside of a handful of developers wanted or asked for. I know very few people who’ve actually used any of them other than to see what the noise is all about.
Tech companies take note: find something else to invest in before it’s too late. Beefing up protections and returning control of privacy to the hands of the users would be a good place to start.
Posted, 2/4/26
