Inside Meta's Applied AI team, frustration is at boiling point. An employee interrupted an internal livestream with a vulgar outburst directed at the company’s leadership, voicing the sentiment felt by many: 'Tell him he’s a piece of shit.' The team, established in March to support AI research, has faced heavy criticism for being overwhelmed with menial tasks and feeling undervalued.

Three current employees detail their experiences of drudgework and soul-crushing monotony. They liken the environment to 'the gulag,' describing a lack of purpose and minimal interactions. Tensions aren’t just limited to Applied AI; other divisions report record-low morale following recent restructuring, including layoffs for 10% of the company.

Adding insult to injury, employees have signed a petition against Meta’s surveillance program, which tracks keystrokes and clicks to generate training data for AI models. In an internal address, Chris Cox acknowledged the “brutal” environment and urged leaders to reconnect with their team, while CEO Mark Zuckerberg promised stability and restructuring measures.

Despite Zuckerberg’s reassurances, the situation remains dire. Engineers in Applied AI are forced to join or leave the company, creating a sense of being drafted into an unwanted role. Tasks include generating complex coding problems for AI scientists, far removed from their initial aspirations of developing social media apps for billions. Meta’s ambitious AI goals have been met with mixed success since releasing pioneering models three years ago.