Meta will begin monitoring employee activity data, including employee clicks and keystrokes, to train its artificial intelligence models as part of a broader AI workforce overhaul.
The parent company of Instagram and Facebook will install a new tracking software on the computers of US-based employees to track every activity so that agentic AI systems can perform their tasks efficiently and autonomously, as reported. Reuters.
According to an internal company memo, the software, called Model Capability Initiative (MCI), will run on work-related websites and apps. The tool is also authorized to take snapshots of the content on employees’ screens.
Speaking about the motive behind the move, a spokesperson for Meta told the BBC, “If we’re building agents to help people complete everyday tasks using computers, our models need real examples of how people actually use them.”
The latest effort will improve the company’s models, which are facing difficulties in working efficiently in areas where humans dominate, such as interacting with computers.
Is privacy at risk?
Tracking employee movements has raised concerns about workplace privacy.
Meta spokesperson Andy Stone explained, “The data is not used for any purpose other than model training” and said the tool “has safeguards in place to protect sensitive content.”
“If we’re creating agents to help people complete everyday tasks using computers, our models need real examples of how people actually use them, making mouse movements, clicking buttons, and navigating dropdown menus,” Stone said.
According to Ifeoma Ajunwa, a law professor at Yale University, this shift exposes white-collar professionals to a level of intrusive, real-time surveillance that was once exclusive to the gig economy and delivery sectors.
“On the US side, federally, there are no limits on activist surveillance,” Ajunwa said.
The structural reality of the ‘AI workforce overhaul’
By 2026, the AI workforce overhaul has moved from a theoretical threat to a well-articulated reality. Now Artificial Intelligence is no longer just a tool. Humanity has moved into the era of agentic workflow where AI models are capable of working autonomously.
No tech company is more ambitious about integrating AI into company workflows than Meta. Now the company is investing heavily in AI projects. Spending on AI is expected to reach approximately $140 billion in 2026, double from last year.
For example, Facebook’s parent company is urging employees to use AI agents for coding and other tasks. It also aims to create a new general purpose job category called AI Builder.
Last month, Meta formed a new Applied AI (AAI) engineering team to improve the coding capabilities of AI models.
This year, Meta laid off 2000 employees and now plans to lay off 10 percent of its workforce globally from May 20.
A Meta employee, who did not want to be identified, expressed his sentiments calling this scenario “very bad” as the company is planning additional job cuts and training AI models on these workers’ data.
“This company has become obsessed with AI,” he said. BBC.
Another person who recently left the company said, “The tracking software is just the latest way they’re shoving AI down everyone’s throats.”
