Mark Zuckerberg has been sending emails personally to employees at Google’s AI division, DeepMind, in an effort to entice them to join Meta, according to sources familiar with the matter as reported by The Information. This highlights the intensifying competition for skilled AI professionals within the industry, particularly given the limited number of qualified researchers in the field.
As per the report, Zuckerberg underscored AI’s significance to Meta in his emails, expressing his desire for collaboration between the recipient and the company. Additionally, Meta is said to be extending job offers without traditional interviews and is engaging in salary and incentive negotiations to attract top-tier talent. This marks a departure from the company’s previous policy of not adjusting compensation for employees considering departure, signalling a shift towards openness to negotiations.
Read more: Meta to start labelling AI generated content across all Meta platforms
According to CNBC, Tom Alison, who heads Facebook at Meta, disclosed Meta’s intention to enhance its platform’s video recommendations by intensifying its focus on artificial intelligence. Alison outlined a strategy to merge various recommendation systems into a unified AI model, aiming to deliver more compelling and tailored suggestions across Meta’s entire video ecosystem. This consolidation effort extends beyond powering Reels to encompass Meta’s Feed recommendation product. Alison expressed optimism that refining this approach could not only enhance recommendation quality but also enhance their responsiveness.
In a further illustration of the competition for AI talent, reports indicate that Google co-founder Sergey Brin personally contacted an employee who was considering leaving the company to join OpenAI. Brin offered increased compensation in an attempt to convince the employee to remain with Google, according to The Information.