TikTok owner ByteDance sues intern for 1.1 million in damages for 'sabotaging' AI project

TikTok parent company ByteDance is going after a former intern for allegedly sabotaging an AI training project. According to The South China Morning Post, ByteDance is seeking 8 million yuan (about 1.1 million) in damages and a public apology from ex-intern Tian Keyu. The case, which has already been accepted by Haidian District Court in Beijing, centers around accusations of Tian tampering with code related to an AI training project. Tian was fired in August because he "maliciously interfered with the model training tasks," according to a statement from ByteDance. In the same statement, ByteDance disputes rumors that the tampering involved 8,000 GPU cards and lost the company tens of millions of dollars, saying those claims are "seriously exaggerated."