Meta's employee keystroke-and-screen recording program for AI training remains suspended after internal leak, Business Insider reports
Meta's Model Capability Initiative, which recorded employees' keystrokes, mouse movements and screens to train AI on how people use computers, remains suspended more than two months after an engineer found the collected data, including private conversations, viewable company-wide, Business Insider reported on September 11. Meta paused the mandatory program in late June, said it would return only as opt-in, and declined to say whether the data trained its models. A staff petition drew more than 1,800 signatures.
Report (Business Insider) → · Engadget
Key points
- MCI, launched this spring by Meta's TBD AI unit, was mandatory; CTO Andrew Bosworth told staff there would be no opting out.Business Insider
- More than 1,800 employees signed a petition; organizers' flyers cited National Labor Relations Act protection for speaking out on workplace issues.Business Insider
- In June Meta allowed temporary opt-outs of up to 30 minutes for sensitive tasks, which organizers described as an early concession.Business Insider
- In late June an engineer found MCI data, including full private conversations, viewable across the company; Meta switched the program off within hours.Business InsiderEngadget
- Meta said it had no indication data was improperly accessed, paused MCI while investigating, and would make it opt-in if reintroduced.Business InsiderEngadget
- A Meta manager said in July the data had not trained its latest models; Meta declined to comment on how the data was used.Business Insider