In order to gather information for AI training, Meta intends to monitor the mouse and keyboard movements of its employees. According to an internal memo distributed to staff members, Reuters claims that the objective is to enhance the company’s AI agents that mimic human interaction with computers.
On work PCs, the tracking program known as Model Capability Initiative (MCI) will be installed. Employees’ mouse and keyboard activity on work-related apps and websites will be monitored by the software, which will also periodically take screenshots of their work-related information.
“If we’re building agents to help people complete everyday tasks using computers, our models need real examples of how people actually use them — things like mouse movements, clicking buttons, and navigating dropdown menus,” a Meta spokesperson tells Reuters.
Employee surveillance technologies frequently lead to unpleasant work conditions and privacy issues. Reuters is informed by Meta that sensitive employee information will be protected and that the data gathered via their MCI system will not be utilized for performance appraisals. This tracking is currently only available to US-based workers of the company.
The news comes as people continue to lose their employment due to improvements in AI. According to a separate article from Reuters, Meta itself plans to start layoffs on May 20. At the beginning of this year, the corporation let go of hundreds of workers from its Metaverse subsidiary. 8,000 more positions, or around 10% of its global workforce, will be eliminated in the most recent round.
Meta won’t be stopping there. The second half of the year will bring further job cuts, sources tell Reuters.
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