Meta is installing tracking software on US employees’ computers to capture mouse movements, clicks and keystrokes to train its AI models as part of efforts to build autonomous work agents, according to internal memos sas per Reuters Report. The company, which owns Instagram and Facebook, told workers on Tuesday that a new tool will run on Meta's computers and internal apps, logging their activity to be used as training data for AI technology.
The tool, called Model Capability Initiative (MCI), will run on work apps and websites and take occasional screen snapshots to help AI better replicate human computer use, such as dropdowns and shortcuts. "This is where all Meta employees can help our models get better simply by doing their daily work," it said.
Meta is expanding AI integration across workflows under its “AI for Work” initiative, now rebranded as Agent Transformation Accelerator (ATA). CTO Andrew Bosworth said, “The vision we are building towards is one where our agents primarily do the work and our role is to direct, review and help them improve," adding they should "automatically see where we felt the need to intervene so they can be better next time.”
He also said Meta would be “rigorous” about “building up data and evals for all the types of interactions we have as we go about our work.” Meta spokesperson Andy Stone confirmed MCI data will be used as input.
Meta is planning major layoffs starting May 20, cutting about 10% of its global workforce, with more reductions possible later. At the same time, it is pushing an AI-first strategy, retraining employees into “AI builder” roles, forming new AI teams, and using AI tools to automate software development.
To improve these AI systems, Meta is also collecting employee interaction data like mouse movements and clicks to train models that better understand how people use computers. Meta has already cut about 2,000 jobs this year through several smaller layoff rounds, but staff have been bracing for more substantial job reductions in the coming months, as previously reported by the BBC.
