ByteDance fires intern for sabotage of AI project
Reports claiming that 8,000 GPUs were disrupted by intern's actions are inaccurate, it says
ByteDance, the Chinese tech giant known for its hugely popular social media platform TikTok, has fired an intern for allegedly sabotaging an internal AI project.
According to the company, the individual maliciously interfered with the training of AI models used in research, which led to their dismissal in August.
The incident gained public attention after rumours spread widely on Chinese social media over the weekend, drawing public attention to the company's internal operations.
In a statement released on Toutiao, ByteDance's news aggregator service, the company confirmed the intern's dismissal, citing serious disciplinary violations. However, it reassured stakeholders that its commercial AI products, including its large language models that underpin generative AI technologies, remained unaffected by the interference.
In recent years, ByteDance has aggressively pursued advancements in AI, especially in generative AI technologies.
Earlier this year, its Doubao chatbot emerged as a strong contender to Baidu's Ernie, leading the race to become China's response to OpenAI's ChatGPT.
Despite the isolated incident involving the intern, ByteDance sought to clarify that reports circulating on social media had been inaccurate. These included claims that the intern's actions had disrupted as many as 8,000 graphical processing units (GPUs) and caused financial losses in the tens of millions of dollars.
"The individual was an intern with the [advertising] technology team and has no experience with the AI Lab," ByteDance said in a statement.
"Their social media profile and some media reports contain inaccuracies."
The company said it had notified the intern's university and relevant industry associations of their misconduct.
The incident comes at a time when the global tech industry is facing heightened scrutiny over the safety, ethics, and potential risks associated with generative AI models. Governments and regulatory bodies worldwide are increasingly focusing on ensuring that AI technologies are developed and deployed responsibly.
ByteDance has found itself in the spotlight due to its massive influence through TikTok, it’s video sharing app.
In the US, the company faces mounting pressure to divest its stake in TikTok or risk a potential federal ban due to national security concerns.
Earlier this year, the US House of Representatives passed a bill that could lead to a nationwide ban on the app.
The legislation, aimed at safeguarding national security, gave ByteDance a six-month deadline to sell its controlling stake in TikTok. If the company fails to comply, the app could be banned across the country.
Supporters of the bill argue that TikTok, given its influence and its ownership by a company with ties to the Chinese Communist Party, represents a significant national security threat.
In response, TikTok has underscored its commitment to data security and privacy to ease these concerns.
ByteDance has expressed its preference to shut down TikTok rather than sell it under unfavourable terms. Additionally, the company has refused to sell TikTok without its recommendation algorithm, which has been key to the app’s success.
TikTok is currently challenging the divesture or close order in US courts.