Bytedance Fires Intern for Sabotaging AI Project
In a dramatic turn of events, Chinese tech giant Bytedance has terminated an intern’s employment after they were accused of “maliciously interfering” with the training of one of the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) models.
The firm, which owns the massively popular social media app TikTok, has dismissed the intern’s actions as containing “some exaggerations and inaccuracies” despite the widespread reports about the incident over the weekend.
The targeted AI model in question is Bytedance’s Doubao, a ChatGPT-like generative AI chatbot that has become the most widely used such system in China.
According to the company, the unnamed intern was part of the advertising technology team and had no prior experience working with the AI Lab responsible for Doubao.
“The individual was an intern with the [advertising] technology team and has no experience with the AI Lab,” Bytedance stated firmly. “Their social media profile and some media reports contain inaccuracies.”
Contrary to the sensational claims that have been circulating, Bytedance asserted that its core commercial online operations, including the large language models powering Doubao, remained unaffected by the intern’s actions.
The company also refuted reports suggesting that the incident had caused over $10 million (£7.7 million) in damages by disrupting an AI training system comprising thousands of powerful graphics processing units (GPUs).
“The firm said its commercial online operations, including its large language AI models, were unaffected by the intern’s actions,” the report stated, underscoring Bytedance’s commitment to setting the record straight.
Bytedance’s swift response comes after the news of the incident had quickly spread across social media over the weekend. The tech giant, known for its algorithmic prowess in driving the viral success of TikTok and its Chinese counterpart Douyin, has been investing heavily in AI technology.
“Bytedance operates some of the world’s most popular social media apps, including TikTok and its Chinese-equivalent Douyin,” the article noted. “It is widely seen as a leader when it comes to algorithm development due to how appealing its apps are to users.”
In addition to Doubao, the company leverages AI for a wide range of applications, including a text-to-video tool called Jimeng.
This emphasis on AI development underscores Bytedance’s ambition to remain at the forefront of technological innovation in the highly competitive social media landscape.
While the full details of the incident remain unclear, Bytedance’s decisive action in terminating the intern’s employment and notifying the individual’s university and industry bodies sends a clear message about the company’s commitment to safeguarding the integrity of its AI projects.
As the world continues to grapple with the rapid advancements and potential risks associated with AI technology, this episode serves as a cautionary tale about the importance of robust security measures and vigilance in protecting critical AI systems from malicious interference.