Zuckerberg admits Meta's AI progress is slow
What's the story
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has admitted that the development of artificial intelligence (AI) agents is progressing at a slower pace than anticipated. The admission comes after the company laid off some 8,000 employees and reassigned another 7,000 to new AI-focused teams. Despite the challenges, Meta is still investing heavily in AI infrastructure and expects to see meaningful results from its investments in the next three to six months.
AI tools
AI agents and Meta's investment in them
AI agents are tools that run on artificial intelligence models and can perform tasks for users. Meta is betting big on these agents as part of its broader AI strategy. The company expects to invest up to $145 billion in AI infrastructure this year alone. Despite the slow progress, Zuckerberg said Meta is still on a "journey to superintelligence."
Restructuring impact
Restructuring and layoffs at Meta
Meta has undergone major internal changes in recent months, including the establishment of a new Applied AI division. About 6,500 engineers and product managers were reassigned from other teams to work on AI projects. The company also laid off about 10% of its global workforce, or some 8,000 employees, and reassigned around 7,000 workers to new AI-focused teams.
Privacy issues
Backlash over AI training program
Meta's Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth had also acknowledged the problems with the restructuring process in an internal memo. He said that Meta had done an 'atrocious' job of explaining its vision behind the changes. In April, Meta faced backlash over its decision to use software for tracking mouse movements and keystrokes of employees to train AI agents. The program was later paused due to privacy concerns from users.