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Meta lays off tech teams, battering employee morale

Another round of employment layoffs was implemented by Meta on Wednesday, this time affecting engineers and related tech teams as CEO Mark Zuckerberg continued to restructure the company in an effort to make 2023 a “year of efficiency.”

The second round of mass layoffs at Meta, which it estimated would affect 10,000 workers, was announced in March, making it the first Big Tech company to do so. It was stated that 10,000 employees would be impacted over a period of months and in three main groups.

According to one of the dismissed workers who spoke with CNBC, the most recent job cuts also affected teams that worked with products, and Meta plans to eliminate business-related positions like those in finance, law, and human resources starting next month.

Also Read: Google wins appeal of $20 mln US patent verdict

This individual also said that technology teams who were not affected by the layoffs on Wednesday might be affected by those scheduled for the following month. The Business Programme Manager at Facebook, Teresa Jimenez, wrote on LinkedIn: “I woke up this morning to the awful news that I was one of the many laid off from Meta today.

While I am undoubtedly disappointed, I am also really #grateful for the chance to have collaborated with some of the most creative people for almost three years! (sic)”

Zuckerberg had stated in March that “We anticipate announcing reorganizations and layoffs in our tech groups by the end of April 2023, followed by our business groups by the end of May 2023.

In a small number of cases, it may take through the end of the year to complete these changes. Our timelines for international teams will also look different, and local leaders will follow up with more details.”

After a pandemic-driven surge in online advertising and cloud computing, Meta’s initial wave of layoffs in the fall affected more than 11,000 workers, or 13% of its total staff at the time, and came before other significant IT businesses laid off thousands of workers.

Along with the restructuring, Meta is “flattening” the levels of middle management and shelving lower-priority projects. The corporation has benefited from shrinking thanks to investors. In comparison to the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, Meta shares have increased by almost 80% this year.

The company, which will release its first-quarter earnings on April 26, is anticipated to profit from regulatory pressure on primary rival TikTok and a minor uptick in the digital advertising sector

Sandhya Gupta

I am a law graduate from NLU Lucknow. I have a flair for creative writing and hence in my free time work as a freelance content writer.

Meta releases AI model that can identify items within images

On Wednesday, Meta, the owner of Facebook, released a collection of image annotations that it claimed was the biggest ever of its kind combined with a model based on AI that can identify specific items within an image. The final dataset contains over 1.1 billion masks of segmentation from over 11 million licenced and privacy-preserving photos.

The organization’s research department said in a blog article that the company’s Segment Anything Model, or SAM, could recognise objects in pictures and videos even when it hadn’t seen those objects during training.

Also Read: Google Workers in London stage walkout over job cuts

SAM allows users to select objects by clicking on them or by entering text commands. Typing the word “cat” in one demonstration caused the tool to generate boxes around each of the multiple cats in a picture.

Meta noted, “Meta stated, “Our objective was to build a foundation model for image segmentation… a promotable model that is trained on a variety of data and can adapt to specific tasks, analogous to the use of prompting in models of natural language processing.”

However, in contrast to images, videos, and text, the segmentation data required to train such a model is not easily accessible online or anywhere else. So, with Segment Anything, we set out to simultaneously create a segmentation dataset of unprecedented scale and develop a general, prompt segmentation model.”

Since Microsoft-backed OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot became an internet hit in the fall, sparking a surge of investments and a race to dominate the area, large tech firms have been bragging about their artificial intelligence advances.

Though it hasn’t yet made a product available, Meta has teased a number of features that use the generative AI made famous by ChatGPT, which generates entirely new material rather than just recognising or categorising data like other AI.

Examples include a programme that creates surrealist films from word cues and another that turns prose into pictures for children’s books.

Also Read: UBS to cut up to 30% of the global workforce

According to Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, adding these generative AI “creative aids” to Meta’s products is a top focus for this year. Internally, Meta does make use of SAM-like technologies for tasks including tagging photographs, removing objectionable information, and choosing which articles to promote to Facebook and Instagram users.

The corporation said that the introduction of SAM will increase access to that kind of technology. A non-commercial licence will be required to download the SAM model and dataset. Users who upload their own photographs to an associated prototype must also consent to use them strictly for study.

Sandhya Gupta

I am a law graduate from NLU Lucknow. I have a flair for creative writing and hence in my free time work as a freelance content writer.

Why is Meta being sued by its home county, San Mateo?

Leave a Comment / Story, Tech Story / By Sandhya Gupta

The school board in Meta Platforms Inc.’s home county filed a lawsuit against the business for allegedly encouraging student addiction to its social media networks and causing a crisis of mental health.

Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook has been named in a lawsuit by the San Mateo County Board of Education filed against Google, TikTok, and Snap-on March 13. The distance between Redwood City, the county seat, and Meta’s offices in Menlo Park, California, is roughly four miles.

The complaint is comparable to a first-of-its-kind lawsuit brought by the Seattle school district in January, which claims that the companies deliberately created their social media platforms to be alluring and to send harmful content to children and teenagers.

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Numerous other school systems, as well as numerous children and their parents, have filed lawsuits in places like Florida and Arizona. According to the complaint, San Mateo’s board of education claims it is allocating “unprecedented resources” to help children harmed by excessive time spent on screens and diverting funds from traditional educational objectives to deal with psychological issues that “have no historic analog,” such as increased suicide rates.

According to Antigone Davis, the global head of safety at Meta, the company wants teenagers to stay secure online and provides over 30 safety tools for children and families, including age verification technology and parental control.

In a statement, Davis said, “We automatically set teens’ accounts to private when they join Instagram, and we send notifications encouraging them to take regular breaks.

We don’t allow content that promotes suicide, self-harm, or eating disorders, and of the content we remove or take action on, we identify over 99% of it before it’s reported to us.”

The billionaire CEO of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, has previously supported the educational change, contributing $120 million to San Francisco Bay Area schools almost ten years ago.

Also Read: Why Google suspended China’s Pinduoduo app?

But in the 116-page lawsuit, Facebook and Instagram are referred to as a public nuisance, and Meta and the other businesses are charged with racketeering, gross negligence, conspiracy, and unfair competition.

At a Congressional hearing on Thursday, issues related to social media addiction were brought up as TikTok CEO Shou Chew fought back against efforts by US legislators and the Biden administration to compel the business’s Chinese parent firm, ByteDance, to forfeit its shares of the unit or shut it in the US.

The meeting was attended by the parents of a 16-year-old boy who committed suicide after using TikTok. The pair filed a lawsuit against ByteDance, claiming that TikTok sent their son over 1,000 videos about self-harm, suicide, and hopelessness.

Sandhya Gupta

I am a law graduate from NLU Lucknow. I have a flair for creative writing and hence in my free time work as a freelance content writer.

Meta to end news access for Canadians

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By Suhani Jain

Facebook-parent Meta Platforms Corporation told reporters Saturday that if the nation’s Online News Act is enacted in its present form, it will end the accessibility of news and information for Canadians on its portals.

The bill would require Meta and Google to discuss advertising deals and charge news publishing houses for their information. A Meta spokesperson argued that the proposed legislation was “neither sustainable nor workable,” and expressed concern that it would force them to pay for links or content that they did not post.

Also Read: Google tests blocking news content for some Canadians

The move follows Google’s recent tests on news censorship and both firms’ ongoing expansion of their market share in branding. The Canadian news media industry has called for more regulatory oversight of tech businesses.

The “Online News Act,” or House of Commons bill C-18, which was implemented in April of last year, outlined rules that would require platforms such as Meta as well as Alphabet Inc child company Google to discuss advertising deals as well as charge news publishing houses for their information.

“A legislative framework that compels us to pay for links or content that we do not post, and which are not the reason the vast majority of people use our platforms, is neither sustainable nor workable,” a Meta spokesperson said as a reason to suspend news access in the country.
Source: usnews.com

Meta’s move follows after Google began testing restricted news censorship as a possible reaction to the legislation last month.

The Canadian news media industry has pressed the government regarding more regulatory oversight of tech businesses so as to recover financial losses sustained over the years as technical behemoths such as Google as well as Meta progressively expand their market share in branding.

Pablo Rodriguez, Canadian Heritage Minister, stated in a statement issued on Sunday that it was disheartening to see Facebook stooping to threats rather than cooperating with the Canadian government in good conscience and that the C-18 bill was not related to how Facebook tends to make news media accessible to Canadians.

“All we’re asking Facebook to do is negotiate fair deals with news outlets when they profit from their work,” Rodriguez said. “This is part of a disappointing trend this week that tech giants would rather pull news than pay their fair share.”
Source: usnews.com

The year before, Facebook expressed concern about the legislation as well as warned that it could potentially be pressured to inhibit news-sharing on its platform.

Also Read: Instagram starts testing its age verification tools in more countries

Other nations which have questioned businesses like Facebook and Google to pay news publishing houses for material featured on their portals include New Zealand as well as Australia.

In December, New Zealand Broadcasting Minister Willie Jackson said, “It’s not fair that the big digital platforms like Google and Meta get to host and share local news for free. It costs to produce the news and it’s only fair they pay.”
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Suhani Jain

I am a student pursuing my bachelor’s in information technology. I have a interest in writing so, I am working a freelance content writer because I enjoy writing. I also write poetries. I believe in the quote by anne frank “paper has more patience than person

Finally, Meta’s AR/VR roadmap is out. Will Meta succeed again?

Leave a Comment / Story, Tech Story / By Sandhya Gupta

With a surge of AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality) products, the parent company of Facebook, Meta now appears to be significantly investing in its metaverse plans.

Quest Pro, a premium virtual and augmented reality headset from Meta, was introduced in October of last year. According to reports, Meta plans to introduce its first set of smart glasses with a display in 2025 along with a smartwatch with a neural interface to operate them.

According to the story, Meta’s AR glasses are anticipated to become available later in 2027. A Quest 3 headset is probably included in the social media juggernaut’s potential 2018 plan as well. In 2024, it might also reveal a headgear with the codename Ventura.

Also Read: Snapchat launches A.I. chatbot powered by OpenAI’s GPT

The Verge reported that the potential roadmap for many AR and VR devices from Meta for the years 2023 through 2027 has been leaked. The Meta Quest 3 headset with mixed reality interactions will be revealed later this year, according to the story, which cites personnel of Meta’s Reality Labs division.

The main headset could be two times as thin and potent as the Quest 2 and is anticipated to cost more than it does at present. The Verge reported that the potential roadmap for many AR and VR devices from Meta for the years 2023 through 2027 has been leaked.

The Meta Quest 3 headset with mixed reality interactions will be revealed later this year, according to the story, which cites personnel of Meta’s Reality Labs division.

The main headset could be two times as thin and potent as the Quest 2 and is anticipated to cost more than it does at present.

According to the report, the Mark Zuckerberg-led company intends to release a more “accessible” headset next year under the codename Ventura. The firm might then release an advanced headgear with photorealistic Codec Avatars, code-named La Jolla.

Additionally, the report claims that the company will introduce the second-gen of its Ray-Ban Stories this fall. The glasses for augmented reality were created in collaboration with Luxottica, the parent company of Ray-Ban.

The third version of smart glasses with a “viewfinder” display for reading incoming texts, scanning QR codes, and instantly translating written text from another language is expected to be unveiled by the company in 2025.

Also Read: Microsoft brings iMessage to Windows 11, will it last?

The “neural interface” band that will enable individuals to operate the glasses through their brains will be distributed along with them.

The “neural interface” band, which would enable users to operate the glasses through hand gestures, will be made available along with the glasses. According to other reports, Meta is also working on a smartwatch that will sync with smart glasses.

Additionally, it has been reported that Meta may reveal its long-rumored Orion augmented reality glasses to staff members internally in 2024. It might be accessible to everyone after 2027.

Sandhya Gupta

I am a law graduate from NLU Lucknow. I have a flair for creative writing and hence in my free time work as a freelance content writer.

Meta Launches Subscription Service for Facebook and Instagram

Leave a Comment / News, Tech News / By Suhani Jain

Mark Zuckerberg made the Announcement on Instagram Sunday that Meta is planning to test a monthly subscription service that will enable Facebook and Instagram users to pay to become verified.

“Meta Verified” will start at $11.99 a month on the web or $14.99 a month on iOS, and the company will begin releasing it in Australia and New Zealand this week and “more countries soon.”
Source: cnn.com

Other benefits include extra protection against fake accounts and direct contact with customer support services.

Users who wish to obtain the blue badge would be required to submit a govt ID that resembles their profile name and photograph to prevent fraudulent identities. Consumers must also be over the age of eighteen to be qualified.

Also Read: Google Staff in Zurich Stage Walkout Over Job Cuts

“This new feature is about increasing authenticity and security across our services,” Zuckerberg wrote in an Instagram broadcast channel.

In a statement, Meta clarified there will be no changes to accounts that are already verified. Verification was previously for users who are “authentic and notable.”

“We are evolving the meaning of the blue badge to focus on authenticity so we can expand verification access to more people,” a Meta spokesperson said. “We will display follower count in more places so people can distinguish which accounts are notable public figures among accounts that share the same name.”
Source: cnn.com

Meta also gets added to the list with other platforms with subscription-based systems, such as Discord, YouTube, and Reddit.

The firm recently disclosed that Fb’s daily active users had reached two billion; even so, with price level consuming into marketers’ budgets as well as intense competition from applications like TikTok, those users really aren’t helping to bring in nearly as many earnings as they used to.

Meta revealed in November that it planned for about 11,000 employees job cuts, or 13 % of its working population, the biggest layoff in the corporate history.

Also Read: Facebook Bug Allows 2FA Bypass Via Instagram

Because of service fees obtained by Apple on the iPhone as well as Google on mobile phones running its Android operating system, Meta Verified would be lower in price on the internet than on mobile apps.

The firm confirmed that it doesn’t anticipate the facility to generate passive income during the testing phase, but added that it is an aspect of its expansion activities.

Suhani Jain

Meta

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