New local AI integration into Firefox spurs complaints of ‘CPU going nuts’ — chip and power spikes plague new version 141.x

Firefox rolled out update 141 last month, but there has been an issue simmering under the hood which has only now come to a head. PC enthusiasts don’t like their CPU cycles being wasted, but there is evidence that Firefox v141’s headlining new feature, AI-enhanced tab groups, is chewing through more horsepower than it should. Quell surprise – AI sapping your precious watts for little to no tangible benefit…

The first release of Firefox v141.x was on July 22, but we think that the unsatisfied muttering about AI-enhanced tab groups is only starting to become audible is as this is a feature that is “part of a progressive rollout.” In other words, Mozilla has been quite cautious with switching on this feature to a wider audience.

Leading the throng, who have now found their voices, are the two Reddit threads linked in the intro. IamgRiefeR7 was among the first on the Firefox Subreddit to float the idea that the Mozilla-developed browser was to blame for a recently observed flurry of “rapid CPU and power spikes,” uncharacteristic of the intensity of their browsing activity.

Firefox inference process caught red-handed

Investigations by IamgRiefeR7 pointed to a process called ‘Inference’ fluctuating between 0.05% and an astronomical 130% CPU usage. This was observable in Firefox’s about:processes status page, which you get to by inputting that string into the browser address bar. IamgRiefeR7 tried to kill the process, but such action isn’t recommended, as Firefox subsequently becomes unstable.

Elsewhere, on Reddit (linked top) st8ic88 crafted a very popular Firefox Subreddit thread after noticing “my CPU going nuts for no reason.” This Redditor was clearly exasperated with their laptop CPU overworking, and battery depleting extra fast, all due to some AI process that merely groups tabs.

For those selected for the progressive feature rollout, our only wish is that Mozilla makes this – and future AI shenanigans – easy to toggle on or off. The Firefox browser has a lot of attractive qualities, including its customizability. However, the experience of IamgRiefeR7 – where the browser became unstable when the inference process was killed – isn’t promising.

We took a look at replicating this issue in Firefox 141.x but do not seem to be among the progressive feature rollout chosen. Mozilla says this gradual rollout tactic “helps to get early feedback to catch bugs and improve behavior quickly.” However, the release notes for version 141.0.2 (Aug 5), and 141.0.3 (Aug 7) don’t mention any AI CPU sapping processes bug fix.

Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.