Lawsuit claims Meta's layoff decisions were made by AI, not humans

Ars Technica · 3 months ago · 35

Meta used internal AI systems including a tool called Metamate to select 8,000 employees for layoffs, according to a lawsuit filed by 26 former workers who claim the decisions disproportionately targeted those with disabilities and employees on protected medical or family leave. The AI systems ranked employees partly on their adoption of Meta's AI tools, classifying them into categories such as "AI Native," "AI First," and "AI Enabled." The lawsuit challenges whether algorithmic selection without human managerial judgment violated employment discrimination laws.