05-12-2026
In April, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced to employees that the company would begin tracking their work movements using a new tool. This tracking tool, called Model Capability Initiative (MCI), allows Meta to observe and collect data on staffers as they work on their computers. Tracked actions include what they type, how they move their mouse, where they click, and what they see on their screens. Meta intends to use this data to train its AI models.
Many employees reacted negatively, calling the new tracking a violation of privacy that is callous and dystopian. Some expressed concern about whether Meta could secure their private data, which includes user passwords, product development details, employee immigration status, and health information. Meta wants its 78,000 employees to use AI tools and will evaluate their work performance based on that use. Employees at Meta are strongly encouraged to create and use AI agents to perform various office and coding-related tasks.
The company also announced its plans to lay off around 8,000 employees. Meta’s CFO indicated that more layoffs may come as AI continues to advance. For some employees, the upcoming layoffs have altered their view of Meta. They no longer see it as a place for a long career. (New York Times). Some staffers have begun searching for new positions and are hoping for severance packages.
The MCI tool is also being used to track Microsoft, GitHub, Salesforce, Slack, and Atlassian sites. CNBC reported that Meta’s intensive data gathering is tied to its desire to catch up as the company lags behind generative AI efforts at OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google.