Meta AI staff revolt, Thiel's secret circle, and Bankman-Fried's request to Trump

Wired magazine released another episode of its Uncanny Valley podcast, dedicated to three stories about the crisis unfolding within the technology industry — from internal dysfunction in Meta's AI division to behind-the-scenes dealings involving Bankman-Fried.

Chaos in Meta's AI Lab

Last spring, Mark Zuckerberg announced a major overhaul of the company's AI strategy. Massive sums were spent to attract specialists: negotiations took place with leading researchers from OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and university labs, offering multi-million dollar contracts and promises of unlimited resources. Among the key acquisitions — Alexander Wen, who was recruited from his position as CEO of Scale AI. A few months later, the internal picture looks different. According to Wired, employees of the new AI division describe the atmosphere as dysfunctional. Morale — already damaged by several rounds of layoffs — has fallen further. Among specific complaints:

• Team's key KPIs are not aligned and change without explanation
• Several leading researchers have left the company over the past few months
• The cultural gap between Meta's "old guard" and new employees is widening
• The organizational structure of the division remains opaque

Sources tell the publication of a deeper problem: the division was assembled in haste, and fundamental questions — who decides on model architecture, how resources are distributed, what the actual timeline is — were never clearly resolved.

Peter Thiel's Secret Circle

Meanwhile, Wired publishes an investigation into the closed networks of influence that Peter Thiel has been building for years. These are conservative circles within Silicon Valley — a kind of exclusive clubs where young entrepreneurs and investors exchange insights, build career connections, and shape a common agenda. Interest in these structures surged sharply with Trump's return to the White House: it was people from Thiel's circle who took key positions in the new administration. Graduates of his investment programs now determine regulatory policy in technology and finance.

"Thiel didn't just create an investment network — he created a pipeline to power,"

Wired quotes sources.

For the first time, Wired publicly describes the internal membership rules of these circles and the mechanisms through which Thiel's network influenced hiring in technology companies over the past decade.

Bankman-Fried's Appeal to Trump

The third story concerns Sam Bankman-Fried's attempts, while serving a 25-year sentence following the collapse of FTX, to secure a pardon or sentence reduction. According to the publication, his representatives established contacts with Trump's circle during the campaign period. The argument was built on several points: Bankman-Fried donated money to politicians from both parties, shared the new administration's position on cryptocurrency deregulation, and, unlike some other cases, did not represent a threat to national security.

Additionally, a significant portion of those affected by the FTX collapse have already received compensation through bankruptcy proceedings. So far it is unknown whether these arguments gained real traction in the White House. But the mere emergence of such negotiations is telling: stakes in crypto-politics continue to rise.

What This Means

All three stories are united by one signal: the technology sector is experiencing a crisis of trust — within the largest companies and in the eyes of society simultaneously. Loud promises of an AI revolution diverge from internal realities, closed networks of influence determine policy more than public statements, and criminal cases turn into political negotiations.

Meta is recognized as an extremist organization and is banned in Russia.