A departing AI researcher at Meta has criticised the tech giant's internal culture, likening it to a “metastatic cancer” in a farewell email. The internal message, accessed by The Information, was written by Tijmen Blankevoort, a senior figure on the team behind Meta's LLaMA AI models.
In his note, Mr Blankevoort painted a bleak picture of the company's AI division, which, he said, was gripped by anxiety and organisational chaos. “We are in a culture of fear,” he wrote, blaming incessant performance reviews and repeated layoffs for sapping employee motivation and stifling creativity.
Though Meta's AI division has expanded rapidly to over 2,000 personnel, Mr Blankevoort claims the growth was matched by a clear vision or cohesive strategy. Many employees are unhappy in their roles and lack a clear understanding of the team's overall purpose, he added.
Mr Blankevoort's most damning indictment pointed to a deeper malaise infecting Meta as a whole: “It's not just dysfunction, it's a metastatic cancer that is affecting the entire organisation,” he wrote.
This comes even as Meta is doubling down on its artificial intelligence ambitions. The company is racing to compete with the likes of OpenAI and Google DeepMind by establishing a new Superintelligence Labs unit, focused on developing artificial general intelligence (AGI). As part of this push, Meta has ramped up its recruitment efforts, luring top-tier researchers from across the industry with lucrative compensation packages.
Among the latest additions is Ruoming Pang, the former head of Apple's Foundation Models team, who will now help lead the charge in Meta's AGI efforts, as reported by Bloomberg. Other recent hires include AI scientists from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google, such as Yuanzhi Li and Anton Bakhtin.
These aggressive recruitment efforts have not gone unnoticed. They have drawn criticism from rivals, with OpenAI executives expressing concern over the company's approach to poaching talent. They have alleged that exorbitant signing bonuses were offered to entice key staff. Meta, though, defended its actions, stating that such high compensation packages are rare and usually extended only to senior leadership.
Despite Meta's talent acquisition spree, Mr Blankevoort's exit note highlighted that internal morale and direction may remain significant obstacles. According to The Information, his message has triggered internal discussions and reflection within the company.
