Meta AI scientists are leaving en masse in apparent employee exodus


Meta, formerly Facebook, is heavily investing in the creation of The Metaverse. However, it would appear that the company's massive new focus comes at a cost. As the metaverse takes centre stage, multiple Meta AI scientists are departing from the company in an alleged exodus.

Meta AI scientists leave

Reported by CNBC, the situation within Meta's AI divisions is becoming dire. Since the start of 2022, the company has seen a large number of departures from artificial intelligence experts. Additionally, these departures include some of the company's most distinguished scientists.

In the past few months, CNBC notes that a minimum of four high-up figures of Meta AI have left the company. This has allegedly resulted in the collapse of Meta's London AI offices as the faces of the department all leave.

“Meta’s London office just collapsed,” said AI expert Karl Hermann. “They lost most of their [top] researchers in the span of six weeks. Mark’s [Zuckerberg] gone all Meta now … and they never invested properly in anything in London in the first place.”

The Meta AI exodus is expected to not end anytime soon. According to multiple sources, there's no singular reason why so many scientists are departing. An unnamed source told the outlet that: “For some it might be tied to Meta stock tanking, but I wouldn’t say that’s necessarily the main reason.”

Read More: Mark Zuckerberg traps Meta employees in The Metaverse for six days (April Fools)

There's a lot of work for AI scientists

As we reach the golden era of artificial intelligence development, there's a tonne of work available to AI scientists. For example, Meta, Google, Microsoft, Apple and more are pouring billions into the creation of AI software. But why are people leaving Meta?

Over the past year, the company formerly known as Facebook has been involved in countless scandals. Last year, the company was described as an “army under siege” as employees tired of the barrage of controversies.

However, the reason why there’s been a mass exodus is more likely to do with other companies focusing more on AI. If you're passionately working in a particular field, you want your field to be the focus. At artificial intelligence companies, AI developers will always be the focus.

Will Meta recover from the ongoing exodus? Potentially. Since AI is an emerging new tech trend, there will always be new experts in the field, and Meta is hiring.

For more articles like this, take a look at our AI, Metaverse, and News pages.