Meta did it The “diabolical” task of starting a new artificial intelligence division aims to “rekindle” a brighter company culture through better communication, career growth and even refreshments, the CEO told employees in an internal post seen by WIRED on Monday.
Meta’s Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth’s comments follow a WIRED report last week that revealed widespread dissatisfaction within the applied AI engineering sector. In March, Meta created a division of about 6,500 engineers and product managers to work on projects aimed at improving the company’s generative AI models. But workers’ descriptions of the simple nature of the work led some to describe it as a “forced labor camp.”
“We have undermined your trust that this is a place where your particular expertise and contributions are valued, where you can grow and advance your career, and where you can make a real impact,” Bosworth wrote. “Rapid changes in strategy, including boom and bust cycles in employment, have shaken up the management structure that provided stability while the entire team has been thrown into turmoil.”
Mehta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The unrest within the AI team is contributing to a widespread decline in morale at Meta following mass layoffs, worker surveillance and other concerns among employees. In recent days, several executives, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, posted internal messages acknowledging employees’ feelings and vowing to make changes to address them.
In a lengthy memo, Bosworth, who has long been considered a Zuckerberg supporter, said employees would now receive more personal attention. He said Meta is trying to limit the number of people a manager reports to to about 20 people and limit the number of times employees are replaced with new managers as part of a restructuring. He also said Mehta’s leadership will work to better explain the rationale behind strategic shifts and organizational changes. Managers will focus primarily on administration and secondarily on independent work, and employees will have access to “AI coaching” tools if they decide to use them.
In response to a comment in the memo about the Applied AI team, Bosworth wrote: “We’ve clearly done a terrible job of explaining the vision and giving people a clear picture of how we’re going to support them and their careers in the shift, and how that’s going to change over time.”
In another post late Friday seen by WIRED, Maher Saba, the vice president who leads the Applied AI team, told employees who were forced to join the company that they would be allowed to take on other roles within Meta if they were able to secure them. “Going forward, we will return to business as usual and provide an agency for people to apply for positions of interest,” Saba wrote.
Bosworth emphasized that Meta does not subscribe to the idea that AI will completely replace AI workers. But he said, “You should keep in mind the adage, ‘AI isn’t going to take your job, but someone who knows AI could take your job,'” he said, adding that there will be “tough trade-offs for some time” in terms of the amount of computing available to different teams to utilize AI tools. “We will do our best to be transparent and invest responsibly to alleviate bottlenecks,” he said, while also encouraging employees to escalate issues.
And to boost morale, Bosworth vowed to make the company a “fun and enjoyable” place to work. Meta plans to improve its “micro-kitchen,” an in-office break area with snacks and drinks so employees can spend time together in person, and increase spending on social events as well as travel budgets.
