Meta's AI unit faces internal revolt as engineers describe forced assignments and soul-crushing work

At a glance:

• Meta's Applied AI team, formed three months ago with 6,500 engineers, faces internal revolt over forced assignments
• Employees describe work as "soul-crushing gulag" and were drafted via surprise email without choice
• Over 1,600 Meta workers signed petition protesting AI training data monitoring program

The draftee system that sparked outrage

Meta's Applied AI team, established just three months ago, has become the center of an internal crisis after hundreds of engineers found themselves unexpectedly assigned to support the company's AI ambitions. According to reports, employees learned they had been moved into the group through surprise emails, a process one self-described draftee later described on Reddit as "quite random."

The internal announcement, reviewed by Business Insider, revealed that Meta's AI models lacked the capability to outperform humans at technical tasks like coding. "For agents to understand how people actually complete everyday tasks using computers, we need to train our models on real examples," the announcement read, explaining the rationale behind drafting employees rather than hiring external contractors.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended the approach in a leaked audio recording from an internal meeting, stating that Alexandr Wang — who sold his data-labeling startup Scale AI to Meta for $14.3 billion before taking the role of chief AI officer and heading up Meta Superintelligence Labs — brought valuable expertise to the table. Zuckerberg additionally claimed that the average Meta employee possesses "significantly higher" intelligence than third-party contractors, making them the better choice for the work.

Work conditions and employee backlash

Employees who found themselves drafted into the Applied AI group describe being forced to choose between joining the unit or quitting the company. Many now refer to themselves as "draftees," with their primary assigned task being the generation of puzzles and coding problems to train AI models.

"It's literally the gulag," one employee told Wired. "Most people find the work soul-crushing," said another, reflecting the widespread dissatisfaction within the three-month-old organization. The tension erupted publicly this week when someone hijacked a livestreamed, employee-only presentation with an expletive-laden meltdown, demanding that attendees tell a senior Meta AI executive that he was "a piece of sh*t." One presenter reportedly covered their face with their hands.

The discontent extends beyond the Applied AI team alone. More than 1,600 Meta employees company-wide have reportedly signed a petition protesting a separate program that monitors their clicks and keystrokes for AI training data, highlighting broader concerns about employee treatment and privacy.

Leadership structure and organizational challenges

The Applied AI team is led by Maher Saba, a 12-year Meta veteran who previously served as a vice president in its Reality Labs division — the unit that burned through $83 billion on metaverse initiatives before Meta pivoted to AI. The new organization reports up to Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth.

Originally, the unit was structured with up to 50 employees reporting to a single manager, a hierarchical arrangement that quickly proved problematic for a workforce already experiencing significant distress. Meta's chief product officer, Chris Cox, felt compelled to address the "brutal" environment on a call with employees this week amid the growing unrest.

In response to the mounting criticism, CEO Mark Zuckerberg addressed the broader situation in an internal memo on Friday, acknowledging that recent changes had "caused distress" and admitting the company had made mistakes that it plans to address. Zuckerberg added in his memo that "Meta's north star is to be the best place for the most talented people in the world to make an impact."

Broader implications for Meta's AI strategy

This internal revolt occurs as Meta intensifies its focus on artificial intelligence, funneling billions of dollars into AI development while simultaneously reducing its workforce through seemingly endless layoffs. The contradiction between massive AI investments and employee dissatisfaction raises questions about the sustainability of Meta's current approach.

The situation highlights tensions between Meta's aggressive AI ambitions and its ability to retain talent and maintain a positive workplace culture. With competitors also racing to develop AI capabilities, Meta's internal struggles could potentially impact its competitive position in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

The company's handling of this crisis will likely serve as a test case for how tech giants manage the transition to AI-driven operations while maintaining employee morale and trust.

What to watch moving forward

Going forward, Meta's leadership will need to address several key issues: the future structure of the Applied AI team, how it assigns employees to projects, and whether it can rebuild trust with its workforce. The company's ability to execute on its AI strategy while maintaining employee satisfaction will be closely watched by the broader tech industry.

Additionally, the monitoring program that sparked the petition involving 1,600+ employees represents an area where Meta may need to clarify its data practices and provide better transparency to its workforce. These developments come as Meta continues to navigate the complex intersection of AI advancement, employee relations, and corporate governance in an increasingly competitive market.