Inside Meta's AI unit: forced transfers, soul-crushing busywork, and a revolt brewing

Meta's three-month-old Applied AI team, comprising roughly 6,500 engineers and product managers, is in turmoil. A leaked internal presentation was hijacked this week by an employee who unleashed an expletive-filled rant, demanding attendees call a senior AI executive a "piece of sh_t." One presenter reportedly covered their face in shock.

The outburst, first reported by Wired, crystallizes the anger inside a unit that employees say was formed by coercion. Workers describe being "drafted" into the group with a simple ultimatum: join or quit. Their primary task? Generating puzzles and coding problems to train AI models. "It's literally the gulag," one employee told Wired. Another added, "Most people find the work soul-crushing."

Beyond the Applied AI unit, resentment is spreading. More than 1,600 Meta employees have signed a petition protesting a program that monitors their clicks and keystrokes for AI training data. Meta's chief product officer, Chris Cox, called the current environment "brutal" during a call with staff this week.

The Applied AI team reports to CTO Andrew Bosworth and is led by Maher Saba, a former Reality Labs VP. Originally, managers oversaw up to 50 direct reports - an unsustainable ratio that has only added to the friction.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged the unrest in an internal memo Friday, admitting recent changes "caused distress" and that the company had made mistakes. He reiterated Meta's goal to be "the best place for the most talented people in the world to make an impact." For now, many inside the AI unit would likely disagree.

Source: TechCrunch