In brief
Meta has announced the introduction of a new tool that will track employee activity on their computers, including keystrokes and mouse clicks. This data will be utilized for training its artificial intelligence systems. While the company assures that the data will solely be used for AI training and has safeguards in place, some employees express discomfort, feeling that this move adds pressure amid ongoing job cuts. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has reiterated a strong commitment to AI, planning significant investment in the technology.
Meta will start tracking the way employees work, including their keystrokes and mouse clicks, to train its artificial intelligence (AI) models. The company, which owns Instagram and Facebook, told workers on Tuesday that a new tool will run on Meta's computers and internal apps, logging their activity to be used as training data for AI technology.A Meta spokesman told the BBC: If we're building agents to help people complete everyday tasks using computers, our models need real examples of how people actually use them. The data is not used for any other purpose, he said, adding that the tool has safeguards in place to protect sensitive content.However, one Meta employee expressed concern, stating that having their smallest actions on a computer used to train AI models feels very dystopian as workers anticipate potential job cuts. Another former employee remarked that this tracking tool is merely another method of pushing AI onto the workforce.Meta has already laid off around 2,000 employees this year and is expected to see deeper job cuts soon, while a recent hiring freeze appears to be expanding. Previously, a Meta job site advertised about 800 positions; now it lists just seven.The new tracking tool, named the Model Capability Initiative (MCI), represents a new phase for the company's AI training. Activities on Meta’s computers were accessible before, but this specific logging for AI training is a new development. Co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has committed to substantially increasing AI investments this year, planning to spend approximately $140 billion in 2026, almost double what was invested last year.This initiative also comes after Meta acquired nearly half of Scale AI with a $14bn investment last year, aiming to build its AI capabilities. The company's recent launches, including the AI model Muse Spark, stem from these efforts, with hopes to train new AI models using the data from the employee tracker. Zuckerberg anticipates that 2026 will be transformative for AI in the workplace.
