BEIJING — ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, has confirmed that it has dismissed an intern for “maliciously interfering” with the development of one of its artificial intelligence (AI) models. The tech giant, however, has rejected claims that the incident caused significant disruption, clarifying that some reports about the extent of the damage have been exaggerated.
The news of the incident spread over the weekend on social media, drawing widespread attention, particularly in China, where ByteDance’s AI models, such as its Doubao chatbot, are among the country’s most popular generative AI tools.
In a statement issued Monday, ByteDance said the individual responsible was an intern working with its advertising technology team, not the AI Lab, which is responsible for developing its advanced AI models. “Their social media profile and some media reports contain inaccuracies,” the company added, emphasizing that the intern did not have the relevant experience or access to ByteDance’s high-level AI projects.
Despite the incident, ByteDance reassured the public that its commercial operations, including its large language AI models, were not impacted. The firm also refuted claims circulating online that the interference caused over $10 million in damages, particularly regarding an AI training system utilizing thousands of powerful graphics processing units (GPUs).
“There have been exaggerations and inaccuracies about the financial damage caused by this event,” ByteDance said.
The company also disclosed that it had taken swift action in response to the intern’s misconduct. In addition to terminating the individual’s employment in August, ByteDance reported the incident to the intern’s university and other relevant industry bodies.
The Chinese technology company is widely recognized for its expertise in algorithm development, which has made its apps like TikTok and its Chinese counterpart Douyin immensely popular across the globe. ByteDance has been heavily investing in artificial intelligence, with AI-powered features playing a critical role in its various applications. Among its AI-driven tools is the Doubao chatbot, which rivals the capabilities of models like ChatGPT, and a text-to-video tool called Jimeng.
The incident underscores the growing importance of AI research and the risks posed by internal security breaches, even those carried out by junior staff. While ByteDance appears to have quickly contained the situation, the event has raised questions about the safeguards in place to protect sensitive AI projects at major tech firms.
As ByteDance continues to expand its AI-driven services, this episode highlights the challenges faced by companies operating at the forefront of technology, particularly in safeguarding their critical systems from internal and external threats.
