Vivaldi is launching a new version of its browser and is deliberately avoiding putting AI in the foreground.

Starting today, the Vivaldi browser has a new look. Vivaldi announces version 7.0 in a blog. According to Vivaldi, not just an update, but a completely new browser. The most important innovation is in the central dashboard, where you can store, among other things, a news feed, your agenda, your tasks and notes.

What is striking and, to be honest, somewhat refreshing is the lack of references to AI in the announcement. These days, we can’t read a press release or blog without seeing the acronym used inappropriately and also inappropriately. Announcements in the IT world are no longer relevant if they have nothing to do with AI.

Forced AI

Vivaldi deliberately avoids talking about AI, Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner, CEO of the company behind the Vivaldi browser, tells PC World. “We don’t think of AI as something our users ask for. Rather the opposite. I think a lot of people react negatively to forced AI,” says von Tetzchner.

According to von Tetzchner, the pinnacle of “forced AI” is Windows Recall. Despite opposition from all corners, Microsoft is still trying to integrate the controversial feature into Windows. “The idea of ​​taking a screenshot of your screen every five seconds makes you think, doesn’t it? And then the question arises: Is the functionality you get in return really worth it?”

It’s certainly not that Vivaldi completely abandons AI, but the browser doesn’t believe it should be a functionality in itself. “If our users want AI, they can use it, but they don’t want it to be in the browser. The fact that it’s being pushed so hard shows that it’s about more than just providing a nice feature. “If the function is so great, you don’t have to try so hard,” von Tetzchner concludes the argument.

I think a lot of people just react negatively to forced AI. When a feature is so great, you don’t have to try so hard to get it.

Tetzchner’s Jon Stephenson, CEO Vivaldi (via PC World)