How Meta tried, and failed, to grab its employees' data for AI
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Bloomberg/Getty Images Meta's top AI unit had a plan to teach chatbots to use computers: capture employees' screens. The move sparked an internal revolt as workers fought back with memes, flyers, and a petition. This story for The AI Data Grab series uncovers new details about how the program began. This spring, members of Meta's elite AI unit, TBD , decided that the social media giant needed an edge in the AI race. The edge they were looking for? Data from tens of thousands of Meta employees. Meta introduced a program to collect data from employees for AI training, called Model Capability Initiative (MCI). Employees' keystrokes and mouse movements could help Meta's AI replicate how humans use computers, a critical task as AI labs race to automate white-collar work like coding and accounting. But Meta had a very human problem: its own employees, who revolted over the mandatory project as soon as it was announced. Their resistance took the...
