Meta has stopped employee tracking for AI training due to privacy concerns

Meta has paused a new company-wide program to monitor employees’ computer usage, plagued by internal frustrations.

The program was launched two months ago as part of Meta’s efforts to collect data on how people use computers including mouse clicks and keystrokesIt can be used to train artificial intelligence (AI) models.

From employees who have to monitor and record every online activity at work, but who are concerned about where the data goes and how it is protected, it is immediately frustrating.

Meta shut down the program on Monday after learning that some of the collected data was made accessible to anyone in the organization.

A Meta spokesperson confirmed to the BBC that the program, dubbed the Model Capability Initiative (MCI), was “on hold” while the company investigated the matter.

“At this time, we have no indication that any information was improperly accessed by Meta staff,” the spokesperson added.

The shutdown follows a weeks-long walkout by company employees led by billionaire Mark Zuckerberg.

In an initial response to employee frustrations — seen in part by a petition signed by nearly 2,000 Meta employees calling for the cancellation of the MCI program — Meta said he would allow employees not to pursue it. Up to 30 minutes at a time.

“This was an attempt at damage control,” a current employee told the BBC. The person asked not to be identified.

Another Meta employee, who asked not to be identified, said many technical staff at the company are open to the idea of ​​improving its AI models and becoming more competitive in the field. Dominated by Anthropic and OpenAIPeople are angry about the fact that tracking is “forced on us, there is no agreement”.

“I’ve never seen such bad morale here,” the worker said.

In addition to the surveillance program, frustration within the meta grew as it did. Widespread layoffsAnd he has reorganized many employees and their work around the AI ​​initiative, where the company is It cost up to 145 billion dollars (£109bn) this year alone.

They even have employees Clearly insulted management, External In an internal meeting on AI-driven changes, according to a report in Wired.

While Meta has earned a reputation in the tech industry as a company that frequently reorganizes internal teams around new projects, the changes and costs felt like “chasing your tail” in the pursuit of AI, said one person who left Meta after several years.

“The direction this company has gone is disappointing,” the former employee said. “Boring and disappointing.”