The company is reducing pressure on workers to use artificial intelligence tools while encouraging them to experiment with Hatch, its most advanced AI project yet. Meta is formally ending what amounted to a tokenmaxxing incentive program for employees. In an internal announcement this week, the social media giant told workers that their performance evaluations would no longer be dependent upon how much they used AI tools, three employees who received the message tell WIRED. But as Meta workers simultaneously begin testing a new agentic AI tool known as Hatch, they say their token consumption continues to surge. Almost a year ago, Meta had said workers would be graded on their AI-driven impact," which in practice meant evaluating the extent to which they used chatbots and agents to improve their day-to-day work, Business Insider reported at the time . Usage correlated with employees receiving labels such as "AI Native," "AI First," or "AI Enabled," according to a lawsuit filed in July by about two dozen employees arguing that Meta violated US antidiscrimination laws when laying them off in May. New guidance for performance reviews unveiled this week replaces references to evaluating employees based on criteria like "usage of AI" and their "AI Native" designation, with looser wording, which caveats that "these outcomes can be supported by AI or other means." It restores Meta's focus to grading employees on their impact, with less regard to how it is achieved. Some Meta employees tell WIRED the changes are subtle but welcome, freeing them from feeling pressured to use AI in situations in which it doesn't make sense. Meta spokesperson Tracy Clayton tells WIRED that the updates this week aim to emphasize what has always been the case--Meta evaluates employees based on their contributions. He adds that labels such as "AI Native" were never used for performance evaluation. Engineers across the company were told this week that the company "will not use AI adoption dashboards or token counts to evaluate impact," The Information reported on Wednesday. "Are you a current or former Meta employee who wants to talk about what's happening?

Trending Now Say More Look Up Mashable's Best: E-readers, robovacs, laptops, earbuds, smart home and more Switch Off Creator Playbook Mashable Voices Mashable Selects Safety Net Versus Gift Ideas For Everyone On Your List In My Bag All Series It creates personalized routines to help you sleep better. Miller Kern is the Deputy Editor of Shopping and Reviews at Mashable, where she writes and edits reviews, roundups, deals, and news stories about tech products, including headphones, skincare devices, laptops, sex toys, e-readers, robot vacuums, and more. She's been covering all things shopping and tech, including shopping holidays like Prime Day and Black Friday, for Mashable since 2019. Miller can tell you which products are actually worth your money. She also explores trends in the shopping sphere, such as dupes and viral TikTok moments .

Meta's AI agent plans reportedly include an OpenClaw competitor that can shop on Instagram Meta's AI agent plans reportedly include an OpenClaw competitor that can shop on Instagram Last week during Meta's earnings, Mark Zuckerberg said that the company is working on new AI agents for people and businesses on the company's platform. Now, we know a bit more about what those plans entail, thanks to a new report from . The publication reports that Meta is working on an OpenClaw-inspired agent currently dubbed Hatch. It sounds like the company intends for Hatch to work within its own apps, including agentic shopping on Instagram, as well as with outside services. The company has tested Hatch on simulated versions of third-party services like DoorDash, Reddit and Outlook, according to .

Environment Animals Wildlife Birds How to tell Jackie and Shadow's chicks, Sandy and Luna, apart Hint: One of the bald eagle chicks is a louder pooper. More information Adding us as a Preferred Source in Google by using this link indicates that you would like to see more of our content in Google News results. Jackie and Shadow's chicks Sandy (Chick 1) and Luna (Chick 2) have some subtle differences. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Jackie and Shadow's newly named chicks Sandy and Luna are growing by leaps and bounds.

Environment Animals Wildlife Birds Jackie and Shadow's eaglets' names announced: Say hello to Sandy and Luna Star, Chip, Phoenix were the runners up. More information Adding us as a Preferred Source in Google by using this link indicates that you would like to see more of our content in Google News results. The latest eaglets have officially been named. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. After careful deliberation by a brilliant group of students, Jackie and Shadow's new eaglets have names.

Environment Animals Wildlife Birds Help name Jackie and Shadow's new eaglets Submissions are open until Sunday, April 26 at 11:59 p.m. PDT. More information Adding us as a Preferred Source in Google by using this link indicates that you would like to see more of our content in Google News results. Chick 1 hatched on April 4 and Chick 2 followed on April 5. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Internet-famous eagle couple Jackie and Shadow have two new chicks in need of names. For a small donation, you can submit your name suggestion on the Friends of Big Bear Valley (FOBBV) website .

Environment Animals Wildlife Birds Jackie and Shadow's 2026 babies: Everything you need to know about the new eaglets The two new chicks hatched in early April and are eating lots of fish, sleeping, and acting like siblings. More information Adding us as a Preferred Source in Google by using this link indicates that you would like to see more of our content in Google News results. The chicks are currently figuring out their "pecking order," or who gets first dibs on food. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. It's been another roller coaster nesting season for Jackie and Shadow, a pair of internet-famous bald eagle parents living in San Bernardino National Forest in Southern California.

Managed a perfect cleaning record, if you leave it in the water long enough. Basket is quite difficult to clean. Must be retrieved with a pole when finished. In an aquatic world dominated by robotic pool cleaners that mostly look identical, a company called iGarden has been that breath of fresh air you take after reaching the water's surface. The company's pool cleaners have always featured designs that feel inspired more by high-end automobiles than underwater janitors, and with the new M1 series, its gear is sportier than ever.

Fast, stealthy, and cheap--autonomous, semisubmersible drone boats carrying tons of cocaine could be international law enforcement's nightmare scenario. A big one just came ashore. Colombian military officials intercepted this 40-foot-long uncrewed fiberglass "narco sub" in the ocean just off Tayrona National Park. On a bright morning last April, a surveillance plane operated by the Colombian military spotted a 40-foot-long shark-like silhouette idling in the ocean just off Tayrona National Park. It was, unmistakably, a "narco sub," a stealthy fiberglass vessel that sails with its hull almost entirely underwater, used by drug cartels to move cocaine north. The plane's crew radioed it in, and eventually nearby coast guard boats got the order, routine but urgent: Intercept. In Cartagena, about 150 miles from the action, Captain Jaime González Zamudio, commander of the regional coast guard group, sat down at his desk to watch what happened next.

A visitor has called it a miracle no-one was hurt when a section of cliff collapsed on to a beach on Dorset's Jurassic Coast. Suzanne Sears, from Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire, was taking a walk near West Bay when she heard a deep cracking noise coming from the cliffs before the rockfall shortly after 16:00 GMT on Tuesday. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency confirmed a rescue team was sent to a report of a cliff fall at West Bay and no one was found to be in distress. A woman was forced to run to safety as the Dorset cliff collapsed on Saturday. The kayakers spotted the creature after hearing it exhaling loudly off Portland Castle beach.