Meta workers said the company is evaluating increasingly sophisticated machines as it expands its global AI infrastructure. #
Meta is testing robots capable of performing physical tasks inside its data centers. This push could eventually reduce the amount of human labor required to operate the massive facilities that power the company's artificial intelligence ambitions.
The experiments, reported on by WIRED, involve robotic systems from several manufacturers, including Watney Robotics, Kinova and ABB. Current and former Meta workers told the publication that the company is evaluating increasingly sophisticated machines as it rapidly expands its global AI infrastructure.
Among the systems being tested is a Kinova Gen3 robotic arm that could power-cycle servers or cut electricity to equipment. Meta is separately experimenting with a robot capable of swapping networking cables, a task normally performed by data center technicians.
One worker told the outlet that, if successful, the cable-swapping robot could eventually replace as much as 80% of the workload performed by some employees. The company has also deployed a robotic finger capable of pressing the power button on a Mac Mini or other machine when remotely instructed by a human technician.
The experiments come as Meta pours enormous resources into the physical infrastructure required to support increasingly powerful AI systems. The company says it is building a global network of AI-optimized data centers designed to accommodate both its artificial intelligence workloads and the computing demands of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and its other services.
Meta declined to discuss the specific robotic experiments with WIRED. Spokesperson Francis Brennan, however, pushed back against the idea that the company is preparing for a future with dramatically fewer workers, saying Meta needs additional skilled labor as America's data center construction boom accelerates.
That tension is becoming increasingly important as communities compete for data center projects partly because of the jobs they promise to create. Meta says its U.S. data center projects have supported more than 30,000 skilled trade jobs and 5,000 operational jobs since 2010.
The company has promoted its data centers as engines of local economic growth, a selling point that could face greater scrutiny if automation eventually reduces long-term staffing requirements.
That debate is already emerging in Altoona, Iowa, home to Meta's largest data center campus and an important testing ground for new technology. Meta has been experimenting there with two dual-armed robots from Watney Robotics that perform cabling work under human supervision, according to WIRED. The machines are not yet as fast as workers but have shown enough promise to continue testing.
At Meta's newer Prometheus data center campus in New Albany, Ohio, ABB robots equipped with wheels, lifting mechanisms and robotic arms are being tested to reseat components. Over time, the machines could potentially perform more tasks with less human supervision.
Robots are already handling simpler jobs at some Meta facilities. Self-driving tugger machines move heavy server racks, while wheeled inventory robots scan equipment and are now being used for failure inspections.
But significant limitations remain. Meta's inventory robot reportedly cannot distinguish between red and green equipment lights because its camera sees only grayscale. It can struggle with corners and cables on the floor, requires humans to move it between some buildings, and has been criticized by workers for being slow. Battery charging also creates downtime.
More complicated infrastructure remains even harder to automate. According to WIRED, Meta has internally acknowledged that robots are not currently suited for the intensive cabling involved in systems such as Nvidia's GB300 supercomputers.
Meta, meanwhile, is simultaneously investing in human workers. Its America's Workforce Academy is designed to train thousands of people annually in electrical, mechanical, and plumbing trades needed for data center construction and operations.
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