Meta’s AI team is going through a major restructuring effort. The social media giant’s Responsible AI (RAI) team has been disbanded and most of it is now relocating toward the generative AI product team.
This signals Meta’s efforts toward its broader AI vision and a shift to enhance collaboration across various verticals, with a particular focus on core product development.
As part of the reorganization, certain team members are actively contributing to Meta’s AI infrastructure, highlighting the company’s dedication to strengthening its technological foundations. Despite these structural changes, Meta underscores its unwavering commitment to prioritizing the development of AI in a safe and responsible manner.
Additionally, although the RAI team no longer exists, Meta affirms that this move will not harm the company’s commitment to maintaining responsible AI initiatives. At the same time, the move is also meant to instigate more responsible AI practices into Meta’s key technologies.
Earlier this year, there had been layoffs in the RAI team, which hinted at Meta’s intentions of a possible restructuring. This was further evidenced by the RAI team facing autonomy-related challenges, which required extensive stakeholder negotiations over its initiatives.
The Responsible AI team was originally established in 2019 to identify and address any potential issues in Meta’s AI training processes.
The team’s emphasis was on guaranteeing a surplus of information in model training to mitigate moderation issues on Meta’s platforms. The goal was to improve the responsible utilization of AI technology within Meta.
This restructuring coincides with Meta’s recent introduction of generative AI tools, underscoring the company’s ongoing dedication to advancing AI capabilities.
Despite the changes, former members of the RAI team are anticipated to persist in supporting cross-Meta initiatives related to the responsible development and utilization of AI.
Generative AI for Instagram and WhatsApp
Meta has recently unveiled generative AI features for its most notable social network apps, namely Instagram and WhatsApp. The chatting app gained the ability to make custom stickers with a few prompts using AI, but more recently, WhatsApp Beta also introduced a button to access the app’s very own AI chatbot. The capabilities of this chatbot are yet to be seen for the time being.
