“We’re training the AI ​​that will replace us”: Employee protest against Meta

Meta faced organized resistance from its staff over the implementation of specialized software designed to monitor workplace activity. Employees began distributing flyers at the corporation’s American offices protesting the system, which tracks every mouse movement and click. Information about the start of this campaign appeared against the background of the preparation of the technological giant for a new wave of staff reductions.

Reasons for the protest

According to Reuters, a protest movement has reached the offices of Meta in the United States. Employees post flyers in meeting rooms, vending machines, and common areas. The main reason for dissatisfaction is the use of personnel data to train artificial intelligence models without taking into account the right to privacy of work processes. On the leaflets there are calls to sign a petition demanding the immediate cancellation of monitoring, and one of the slogans reads: “Don’t want to work in a factory to extract these employees?”.

Features and capabilities of the monitoring system

This is software called the Model Capability Initiative. According to internal Meta Superintelligence Labs documents, this initiative involves integrating tracking functions directly into work applications and internal company sites. The system has the following characteristics:

• Constant tracking of the trajectory of the computer mouse;
• Registration of all presses and clicks in the interface;
• Periodically create screen screenshots for context;
• Analysis of menu navigation and internal services.

All collected metrics are used as “real-world examples” to train AI agents that will be able to automate PC tasks in the future.

Scale of changes and start date of reductions

The situation is complicated by the fact that the launch of the program coincided with management’s plans to restructure the company. According to preliminary data, Meta plans to cut 10% of its workforce, which amounts to about 8,000 employees. These measures should be implemented during the week after May 13. Employees fear that they are effectively training the artificial intelligence systems that are ultimately designed to replace them.

Data Collection Features and Meta Position

The official representative of Meta, Andy Stone, confirmed the fact of data collection, explaining it by the need to improve AI technologies. According to him, in order to create effective assistants, models need to understand exactly how people interact with the computer during work. However, the workers are appealing to US labor laws that guarantee the right to organize collective action to improve working conditions and protect against excessive supervision.

The trade union movement in the USA and Great Britain

If in the USA protest is expressed through petitions and internal campaigns, then in Great Britain part of the Meta team chose the path of creating a trade union. The initiative is implemented together with the United Tech and Allied Workers (UTAW). The Leanin.uk resource was launched to attract participants. The main differences in approaches to regions:

Differences in protest formats

UTAW’s Eleanor Payne points out that while management is making risky bets on AI, rank-and-file staff face total surveillance and the harsh reality of being forced to train their own replacements.