As we all reflect on the past year and the moments that had the biggest impact on our lives and culture, we at Mozilla can’t help but call out Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the way it has permeated our society this year. And while Time magazine may have named Taylor Swift its “person of the year” (for reasons we know all too well), we think that AI was the real topic that was top of mind for everyone in 2023 — honestly, who amongst us didn’t post ethereal AI portraits to our feeds? From December 2022 up until December 2023, searches for “artificial intelligence” increased about 250%, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT may have been the biggest needle mover. Since its launch late last year, ChatGPT has reached a wider audience beyond business and tech because — let’s face it — who couldn’t use a Cyrano in their pocket? From cover letters and professional emails, to romantic poetry (with varying success), this year AI became relevant to the general population. It spread through workplaces, generated debate in the halls of government and is set to become one of the most transformational technologies of our lifetime.
AI has vast potential for good — enabling breakthroughs in healthcare and other fields — but it also poses serious concerns. The race to release AI technology without adequate guardrails ensuring safety and transparency is surfacing problems. It’s captured the imagination of the public, but is getting a mixed reception; A recent Monmouth University poll reveals that 46% of respondents believe AI will do equal amounts of harm and good, BUT only 9% of respondents in the U.S. believe it will do more good than harm.
At Mozilla, we’ve found practical ways to build AI into products that add value to our lives, and are working with others to push AI development toward more transparency and accountability. We look forward to AI evolving in ways that enable a safe, more trustworthy and inclusive digital experience for everyone.
With that, we wanted to celebrate 2023 as the year that AI went mainstream and became a household conversation with the report below.
