Meta is no longer forcing engineers into its Applied AI task force after significant employee backlash. The company previously reassigned thousands to AI units, which employees likened to data labeling. This policy reversal follows recent mass layoffs and adds to internal tensions.
Meta has paused its employee tracking software, the Model Capability Initiative (MCI), after a data leak exposed sensitive employee activity logs. The tool, designed to train AI models, inadvertently left data like keystrokes and screenshots accessible within the company, prompting an investigation and internal criticism.
Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth shut down any hopes of opting out of the company's new AI tracking tool, telling employees directly that there's no choice in the matter. The Model Capability Initiative logs keystrokes, mouse movements, and screenshots on work computers to train Meta's AI agents—all while the company prepares to cut 8,000 jobs. Employees are calling it dystopian. Meta is calling it necessary.
