Tech employees for online safety and trust, as well as AI ethics, are still experiencing layoffs.
Apple employees greet a customer (L) as she entered the Hong Kong Apple store to get an iPhone 5 on September 21, 2012. Apple's iPhone 5 hit stores in Hong Kong with queues of devotees undeterred by a lukewarm welcome from experts for the smartphone and complaints about its new mapping system.
In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began, numerous companies in the tech industry decided to let go of some of their staff.
Their layoffs just got worst in 2022. This 2023, Meta, Apple, Twitter, and other tech firms are still terminating their employees.
Now, the main question is, why do tech companies tend to terminate employees who are part of their AI ethics and online safety teams?
Why Tech Employees for Online Safety, AI Ethics Face Terminations
According to CNBC's latest report, massive tech layoffs were made when cyberbullying and other harmful online activities were rampant.
Facebook employees gathered in front of a sign displaying a new logo and the name 'Meta' in front of Facebook headquarters on October 28, 2021, in Menlo Park, California. A new name and logo were unveiled at Facebook headquarters after a much-anticipated name change for the social media platform.
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In 2022, Meta's team anti-misinformation team was working on a fact-checking tool that was supposed to be completed in around half a year.
However, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg's decision to lay off employees included in the team put an end to the anti-misinformation technology.
Meanwhile, Twitter also disbanded its ethical AI team back in November 2022, as well as around 15% of employees of the trust and safety department.
Aside from Twitter and Meta, Google also terminated some of its staff who are working to protect users from radicalization, censorship, toxicity, and misinformation.
Although the 2024 U.S. Election season nears, these tech firms are still planning to conduct layoffs.
Because of this, tech critics think that Meta and other companies view safety and trust, as well as AI ethics, as cost centers.
Tech Layoffs This 2023
Tech Crunch provided the tech layoffs that were conducted this 2023. Here's how many employees were terminated in the tech industry from January to April:
- January: 84,714 employees laid off
- February: 36,491 employees laid off
- March: 37,109 employees laid off
- April: 17,926 employees were laid off
If you want to learn more specific details about these tech layoffs, you can click this link.
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