Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is struggling to catch up to its competitors in the AI race. Despite the company’s attempt to take the pole position at the forefront of AI research, they appear to be falling behind. Meta lost a third of their AI research staff in 2022, with many citing burnout or a lack of confidence in their leadership as reasons for leaving. The company conducted an internal survey earlier this year that revealed only 26% of their employees expressed confidence in the company’s direction as a business.
While Meta has developed some impressive AI technologies, such as a powerful AI music creator and a speech-generation tool, the company still appears to be on the back foot in the AI gold rush. This is perhaps due to the company’s previous obsession with the metaverse, which left them lagging behind in the AI boom. Meta shifted its focus to AI as its primary area of investment, but it failed to capitalize on the AI boom last year.
Employees have reportedly urged Meta’s management to shift back towards generative AI, which fell by the wayside in favor of the company’s metaverse push. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg described 2023 as the company’s year of efficiency. However, this appears to be a cover for Meta’s mass layoffs and project closures in November 2022, which have left morale at an all-time low at the company.
ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Bing AI are already making huge waves in the public sphere, along with AI art generators like Midjourney. It’s hard to see where Meta’s AI projects will fit into the current lineup. Perhaps Zuckerberg should stick to social media instead. The possibilities are endless.
