Elon Musk's xAI Restructures: Massive Layoffs Hit Data Annotation Team

Musk's xAI lays off hundreds of data annotators, Business Insider reports

Sept 12 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's xAI laid off at least 500 workers from its data annotation team, Business Insider reported on Friday. The company sent out emails Friday night notifying employees that it was planning to downsize its team of generalist AI tutors, the report said citing multiple messages viewed by Business Insider. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Reporting by Preetika Parashuraman in Bengaluru; Editing by Himani Sarkar Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

Elon Musk Appears to Now Be Firing the People Behind Grok

After vowing to create a "maximum truth-seeking" AI, Elon Musk appears to now be sacking the people who built it for him. Slack screenshots leaked to Business Insider show that the accounts of at least nine high-level employees with the data annotation team at xAI, Musk's OpenAI competitor, were deactivated over the weekend, in what seems like a major culling at the lab that built the social network's infamous chatbot, Grok. Those people, who weren't named by BI, previously worked on the human data management team that oversaw the 1,500 or so workers and contractors that made up xAI's "AI tutor" team, which is essentially tasked with training Grok how to be more intelligent for anywhere from $35 to $65 per hour, per the company's career page . As BI reported earlier this year, those tutors have, to their chagrin, occasionally been asked to scan their faces for AI training purposes. Sifting through LinkedIn profiles associated with the names of the employees whose profiles had been deactivated, the website identified roughly a dozen people who had worked on Grok's human data managerial team. Many of them had posted on Slack as recently as September 5, the article notes. Among those whose Slacks were deactivated was a supervisor who oversaw the rest of the managers, BI continued -- and they worked on data annotation at Tesla's Autopilot division prior to joining xAI. Along with those Slack deactivations, multiple employees told the website that workers have been individually called in for meetings with supervisors. In those one-on-ones, the workers have been asked -- much like when Musk was working in Donald Trump's presidential administration earlier this year -- what they've been working on and how they add value to xAI. Those meetings, one worker old BI, have caused a "sense of panic" among the tutors. xAI didn't respond to BI's request for comment, a common practice. Grok has been the subject of numerous scandals in recent months, including the "MechaHitler" debacle earlier this summer when the chatbot started targeting people deemed to have Jewish-sounding names, using racial slurs, and calling for a second Holocaust. Were those managers fired for letting Grok go off the rails so badly? Or is Musk scaling down for some other reason? We'll have to wait and see -- but we'll be watching.

Musk's xAI lays off hundreds of data annotators, Business Insider reports - The Economic Times

The company sent out emails Friday night notifying employees that it was planning to downsize its team of generalist AI tutors, the report said citing multiple messages viewed by Business Insider.Elon Musk's xAI laid off at least 500 workers from its data annotation team, Business Insider reported on Friday. The company sent out emails Friday night notifying employees that it was planning to downsize its team of generalist AI tutors, the report said citing multiple messages viewed by Business Insider. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.

Elon Musk's xAI Reportedly Lays Off 500 Workers From Data Annotation Team As Startup Pivots To Specialist AI Tutors For Grok Expansion

Enter your email to get Benzinga's ultimate morning update: The PreMarket Activity Newsletter Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company xAI has reportedly laid off at least 500 workers from its data annotation team as it shifts focus toward specialist roles aimed at accelerating the development of its Grok chatbot. Mass Layoffs Hit Largest xAI Team According to internal emails reviewed by Business Insider, the company told employees on Friday night that it was downsizing its group of generalist AI tutors, who had been responsible for labeling and categorizing data to train Grok. "After a thorough review of our Human Data efforts, we've decided to accelerate the expansion and prioritization of our specialist AI tutors, while scaling back our focus on general AI tutor roles. This strategic pivot will take effect immediately," the message read. "As part of this shift in focus, we no longer need most generalist AI tutor positions and your employment with xAI will conclude." Workers were informed they would be paid through the end of their contracts or until Nov. 30, but access to company systems was cut off immediately. See Also: Tesla Robotaxi Downloads Outpace Uber By 40% On Apple's App Store Amid Ease Of Self-Driving Regulations Pivot Toward Specialist Tutors The layoffs came as xAI announced plans to grow its specialist tutor team by "10X." "We are hiring across domains like STEM, finance, medicine, safety, and many more. Come join us to help build truth-seeking AGI," the company stated on X, formerly Twitter. In the days leading up to the cuts, workers were asked to take tests in areas ranging from coding and finance to social media behaviors, with the results meant to determine their roles. Some employees expressed frustration over the abrupt process, with one annotator calling the timing "pretty shady" before having their Slack account deactivated, said the report, citing screenshots. Subscribe to the Benzinga Tech Trends newsletter to get all the latest tech developments delivered to your inbox. Leadership And Reorganization The reorganization was overseen by Diego Pasini, a University of Pennsylvania student on leave who joined xAI in January and recently became the team's leader, according to his LinkedIn profile. Big Funding, Bigger Ambitions The shakeup follows xAI's $10 billion in new financing disclosed in June, including a $5 billion debt raise and a $5 billion equity investment led by Morgan Stanley. The funding is aimed at expanding Musk's AI infrastructure through data centers as competition in the industry intensifies. Earlier this year, xAI acquired Musk's social media platform X, valuing the startup at $80 billion. The company projects more than $13 billion in annual earnings by 2029. Check out more of Benzinga's Consumer Tech coverage by following this link. Read Next: Elon Musk's xAI Hires Trump Aide Stephen Miller's Wife Katie Amid Controversial Memphis Data Center Permit Win Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Image via Shutterstock Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Musk's xAI lays off hundreds of data annotators, Business Insider reports

(Reuters) - Elon Musk's xAI has laid off at least 500 workers from its data annotation team, which helps develop the company's Grok chatbot, Business Insider reported on Friday. The company notified employees by email on Friday night that it was planning to downsize its team of generalist AI tutors, the report said, citing multiple messages viewed by Business Insider. Responding to a request for comment, xAI referred to a post on X in which the company said it was hiring for roles across domains and planned to increase its specialist AI tutor team by "10X." The data annotation team, xAI's largest, teaches Grok to understand the world by contextualizing and categorizing raw data, Business Insider said. Workers were told that they would be paid through either the end of their contract or November 30 but their access to company systems would be terminated on the day of the layoff notice, the report said. xAI finance chief Mike Liberatore left the company around the end of July after just a few months on the job, the Wall Street Journal reported this month, citing people familiar with the matter. Musk launched xAI in 2023 to challenge Big Tech's AI push, accusing industry leaders of excessive censorship and lax safety standards. (Reporting by Preetika Parashuraman in Bengaluru; Editing by Himani Sarkar and William Mallard)