TikTok parent company ByteDance has confirmed it terminated an intern over the summer for allegedly sabotaging the training of an artificial intelligence model.
The Beijing-based TikTok owner said in a social media post that it had fired an intern in August for “maliciously” interfering with the training of what it referred to as a research project, but said a report claiming that the intern’s actions cost the company “‘tens of millions of dollars’ is seriously exaggerated,” according to a translation.
ByteDance is known for its algorithm development, and the company is joining the rest of Big Tech firms worldwide in leaning further into AI as competition heats up for dominance in building and utilizing the rapidly-evolving models.
Earlier this month, the company — which has over 10,000 employees in more than 200 cities globally — confirmed it was laying off hundreds of workers as it shifts focus towards a greater use of AI in content moderation.
Citing three sources familiar, Reuters reported in September that ByteDance plans to develop an AI model trained primarily with chips from fellow Chinese firm Huawei Technologies. But a ByteDance spokesperson denied those claims, telling the outlet, “No new model is being developed.”
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ByteDance has diversified to domestic suppliers of chips used in AI and accelerated development of its own since the U.S. in 2022 started restricting exports of advanced AI chips such as from market leader Nvidia.
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AI has become central to the tech industry, with firms in sectors as varied as gaming and e-commerce differentiating offerings through the integration of custom AI models — programs that employ pattern recognition to make decisions.
Reuters contributed to this report.
