Meta to start capturing employee mouse movements and keystrokes for AI training data

Meta is installing new tracking software on U.S. employees’ computers to capture mouse movements, clicks, and keystrokes for training artificial intelligence models. The move is part of a broader initiative to build AI agents that can perform work tasks autonomously, the company told staffers in internal memos.

The tracking tool, called Model Capability Initiative (MCI), will monitor work-related apps and websites and take occasional screenshots of employee screens. Meta says the data will help improve AI models in areas where they struggle to replicate human computer interactions, like navigating dropdown menus and using keyboard shortcuts.

AI workforce transformation accelerates

The Facebook and Instagram owner has been moving aggressively to integrate AI into its workflows and reshape its workforce around the technology. Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth outlined the company’s vision in a separate memo, describing a future where “our agents primarily do the work and our role is to direct, review and help them improve.”

This push reflects a broader pattern among major U.S. companies this year, especially in tech. AI tools have impressed Silicon Valley with their ability to handle complex tasks like creating apps and organizing large volumes of data with limited human oversight.

The results are already showing up in employment decisions:

• Meta plans to lay off 10% of its workforce globally starting May 20
• Amazon has trimmed 30,000 corporate employees in recent months
• Fintech company Block cut nearly half its staff in February

Extensive employee surveillance raises concerns

Computer logging and screenshot technology have traditionally been used to hunt for employee misconduct, but Meta’s keystroke tracking takes data gathering much further. The practice subjects white-collar employees to real-time surveillance previously experienced mainly by delivery drivers and gig workers.

“On the U.S. side, federally, there is no limit on worker surveillance,” said Ifeoma Ajunwa, a law professor at Yale University. State laws require at most that workers be broadly informed when employers monitor them.

European law would likely prohibit such extensive monitoring. In Italy, using electronic monitoring to track employee productivity is explicitly illegal, while German courts have held that employers can deploy keystroke logging only in exceptional circumstances.

Safeguards promised but details sparse

Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said the collected data would not be used for performance assessments and that safeguards protect “sensitive content.” However, the company has not detailed which types of data would be excluded from collection.

“If we’re building agents to help people complete everyday tasks using computers, our models need real examples of how people actually use them,” Stone explained.

Internally, Meta has been pushing staff to use AI agents for coding and other tasks, even if it slows them down short-term. The company has also created a new “AI builder” job title and formed an Applied AI engineering team focused on using AI models to build, test, and ship future products.