Meta Applied AI team turmoil has reportedly escalated as employees protest reassignment to AI training data work. During a livestreamed all-hands, an attendee disrupted proceedings with an expletive-filled outburst. Staff report low morale and frustration. CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged distress in an internal memo and said changes aim to strengthen AI efforts.

Meta's three-month-old Applied AI team, a 6,500-person group of engineers and product managers assembled to support the company's AI research ambitions is reportedly fracturing from within, with employees describing their situation in startling terms.

An all-hands meeting that went off the rails

The tension boiled over during a livestreamed internal presentation this week, when an attendee hijacked the session with an expletive-filled outburst, urging thousands of watching colleagues to tell a senior Meta AI executive that he was 'a piece of shit.' A presenter reportedly covered their face in response. The incident, first reported by Wired, reflects simmering frustration inside the unit, which employees say they were drafted into with little choice - join or quit.

Meta employees speak out