TikTok owner sacks intern for sabotaging AI project

TikTok-owner, ByteDance, says it has sacked an intern for “maliciously interfering” with the training of one of its artificial intelligence (AI) models.

But the firm rejected reports about the extent of the damage caused by the unnamed individual, saying they “contain some exaggerations and inaccuracies”.

BBC News has contacted ByteDance to request further details about the incident.

The Chinese technology giant’s Doubao ChatGPT-like generative AI model is the country’s most popular AI chatbot.

“The individual was an intern with the commercialisation 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.”

Its commercial online operations, including its large language AI models, were unaffected by the intern’s actions, the company added.

ByteDance also denied reports that the incident caused more than $10m of damage by disrupting an AI training system made up of thousands of powerful graphics processing units (GPU).

Aside from firing the person in August, ByteDance said it had informed the intern’s university and industry bodies about the incident.

The social media giant has been investing heavily in AI technology, which it uses to power not only its Doubao chatbot but also many other applications, including a text -to-video tool called Jimeng.