Meta to Track Employee Activity for AI Training

Meta is installing new tracking software on US-based employees’ computers to capture mouse movements, clicks, and keystrokes for use in training its artificial-intelligence models. According to internal memos seen by Reuters, the tool will run on a list of work-related apps and websites and also take occasional snapshots of the content on employees’ screens for context.

The purpose of this initiative, known as the Model Capability Initiative, is to improve Meta’s AI models in areas where they still struggle, such as choosing from dropdown menus and using keyboard shortcuts. The internal memos were posted by a staff AI research scientist on Tuesday in a dedicated internal channel for the company’s model-building Meta SuperIntelligence Labs team.

According to TimesLIVE, Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said the data collected would not be used for performance assessments or any other purpose besides model training. He emphasized that safeguards were in place to protect sensitive content. “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, clicking buttons and navigating dropdown menus,” Stone said.

The internal memos read, in part: “This is where all Meta employees can help our models get better simply by doing their daily work.” The new software will operate on specific work-related apps and websites and also make use of periodic screenshots to provide context for the AI training. This initiative aims to build AI agents that can perform work tasks autonomously.