Meta is now facing a lawsuit from 26 employees who argue that the company misused AI software, targeting workers with disabilities and those on medical leave during a round of layoffs earlier this year.
Reportedly, Meta employed an internal tool called “Metamate,” which is sort of like a “second brain” for employees, trained by actual staff. They also used a dashboard that tracks keystrokes and computer activity to identify unproductive workers, according to the lawsuit filed in a federal court in Oakland, California.
However, the technology supposedly overlooked workers on legitimate medical leave, essentially punishing them for exercising their right to take time off, as stated in the lawsuit.
A Meta spokesperson has strongly rejected these claims, calling them baseless. They emphasized that decisions regarding employee management and layoffs have been and will continue to be made by humans, not AI.
This incident is reportedly the first lawsuit involving a major corporation accused of using AI in staff reductions.
Back in May, Meta began cutting 8,000 positions, nearly 10% of its global workforce, marking the largest layoffs in the company’s history as it shifts focus toward AI. In addition, another 7,000 staff were assigned to AI-related roles.
The plaintiffs, including a mix of anonymous managers, engineers, and scientists from California, New York, and Washington, D.C., are seeking to temporarily halt the layoffs while they address their individual disputes with the company.
The lawsuit alleges that Meta utilized data from keystrokes, emails, screen content, and browsing history to compile layoff lists, which adversely impacted employees who took leaves or reduced their hours.
Moreover, the complaint claims that Meta’s actions violated federal and state laws meant to protect workers with disabilities, those on medical leave, and pregnant employees.
The plaintiffs also argue that Meta neglected to test its AI systems for potential bias, contravening recent laws in California and New York City.
Executives at Meta stated that the layoffs were intended to streamline operations while increasing investment in AI.
Interestingly, nearly a third of layoffs this year have hit the tech industry, with AI cited repeatedly as the primary reason for cuts announced in June. This trend has persisted for four months, according to a recent report.
Meta has announced plans to invest between $125 billion and $145 billion this year alone on AI infrastructure. This includes the development of energy-intensive data centers and necessary chips.
This surge in demand has led to a significant shortage of memory chips, resulting in rising costs. Companies like Apple and Xbox have even raised the prices of their devices, attributing the hikes to soaring component expenses.
At the same time, investors are growing increasingly worried that the massive expenditures on AI may not yield proportional returns, raising fears of an “AI bubble” akin to the dot-com bubble of the early 2000s.
