Meta will now track what employees do on their computers to train its AI agents

Meta employees’ activity at work is now being used to train the company’s AI agents. As reported ReutersMeta installs a tool it calls the Modular Capability Initiative (MCI) on the computers of U.S.-based employees that runs work-related applications and websites, recording mouse movements, clicks, keystrokes, and occasional screenshots.

Data from this tool will be used to train the company’s AI models to improve their ability to interact with computers the way humans do, including automating work tasks like those Meta employees perform at work. according to ReutersData from MCI will not be “used in performance evaluations.”

“If we’re building agents to help people complete everyday tasks using computers, our models need real examples of how people actually use them — things like mouse movements, button clicks, and drop-down menu navigation,” Tracy Clayton, a Meta spokeswoman, said in a statement. Edge. “To help, we are launching an internal tool that captures these types of inputs in certain applications to help us train our models. There are safeguards in place to protect sensitive content, and the data is not used for any other purpose.”

An internal memo from Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth, shared with employees on Monday, announced plans to increase internal data collection, including with MCI, for Meta’s Agent Transformation Accelerator (ATA). “The vision we are building is one where our agents do the work first and our role is to guide them, review them and help them improve,” Bosworth stated.

According to Alex Heath sourcesMeta saw “extreme internal backlash” over MCI, with one employee responding to the announcement memo saying, “This makes me feel very uncomfortable. How do we opt out?” “There is no option to opt out of this on your work-provided laptop,” Bosworth responded.

April 22 update: Added a note about employees’ internal reactions to MCI.