Meta drops AI usage from engineer performance reviews after "tokenmaxxing" backfires
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Meta will no longer include engineers' use of AI tools in performance reviews, according to an internal memo from executives Maher Saba and Santosh Janardhan. The company had previously made AI usage a review criterion, which encouraged "tokenmaxxing" — employees using large amounts of AI tokens to boost their standing on internal leaderboards. This behavior became expensive, with internal AI use expected to cost billions in 2026, prompting Meta to plan budgets and a central dashboard starting in 2027. Reviews will now focus on the quality, speed, and complexity of engineering work. Separately, Meta is testing an AI agent called Hatch that can perform computer tasks independently, but the test faces resistance from employees concerned about linking it to personal accounts due to privacy. These details come from reporting by The Information and WIRED.
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