【AI前沿】Meta Is in Crisis, Google Search’s Makeover, and AI Gets Booed by Graduates

Brian BarrettZoë SchifferLeah FeigerBusinessMay 21, 2026 4:44 PMMeta Is in Crisis, Google Search’s Makeover, and AI Gets Booed by GraduatesIn this episode ofUncanny Valley, we unpack the mass layoffs at Meta, big announcements at Google I/O, and the latest backlash against AI.Photo-Illustration: WIRED Staff; David Paul Morris/Getty ImagesCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyThis week onUncanny Valley, the team discusses Meta’s recent layoffs and what they’ve been hearing from employees about the increasingly grim vibes at the company. They also talk about Elon Musk losing his lawsuit against OpenAI and share highlights from Google’s annual conference—including an ambitious AI vision to change how people search the web. Finally, what do recent college graduates and women whose spouses work in AI have in common? They’re all sick of hearing about it.Articles mentioned in this episode:Meta’s New Reality: Record High Profits. Record Low MoraleEverything Announced at Google I/O 2026: Gemini, Search, Smart GlassesGoogle Search Goes Agentic—and Doesn’t Need You AnymoreMeet the Sad Wives of AIYou can follow Brian Barrett on Bluesky at@brbarrett, Zoë Schiffer on Bluesky at@zoeschiffer, and Leah Feiger on Bluesky at@leahfeiger. Write to us at[email protected].How to ListenYou can always listen to this week’s podcast through the audio player on this page, but if you want to subscribe for free to get every episode, here’s how:If you’re on an iPhone or iPad, open the app called Podcasts, or just tapthis link. You can also download an app like Overcast or Pocket Casts and search for “Uncanny Valley.” We’re onSpotifytoo.TranscriptNote: This is an automated transcript, which may contain errors.Zoë Schiffer: Welcome to WIRED’sUncanny Valley. I’m Zoë Schiffer, director of business and industry.Brian Barrett: I’m Brian Barrett, executive editor.Leah Feiger: And I’m Leah Feiger, director of politics and science.Brian Barrett: And we’re all in the same room—Zoë Schiffer: Oh, my God.Brian Barrett: —for the first time from the podcast.Zoë Schiffer: Same room.Leah Feiger: I got invited to the group chat.Zoë Schiffer: You did.Brian Barrett: Look at that.Uncanny Valleyhosts Zoë Schiffer, Brian Barrett, and Leah Feiger.Photograph: WIREDZoë Schiffer: Today on the show, we’re discussing thecomplete meltdownovermass layoffs at Meta. We spoke to more than a dozen employees, and it turns out the job cuts are far from the only reason why Meta employees are really going through it.Brian Barrett: And of course, we wouldn’t skip theElon Musk verdict. He lost his lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI in really as full a way as you can, as dramatically as possible. I know, Zoë, you’re looking forward to talking about that.Zoë Schiffer: Yes.Brian Barrett: And I’m looking forward to talking aboutGoogle’s annual developer conference, I/O,where it debuted somedramatic changes to search.Leah Feiger: And you might’ve seen that Google’s former CEO,Eric Schmidt, recently got booed by graduating students after he praised AI in a commencement speech. We’re going to get into why young adults might be using AI, but they have very complicated feelings about it. And later in the show, we’re going to hear about whywomen married to AI bros have had enough.Zoë Schiffer: First up, let’s dive into what is happening atMeta. This week, the company is letting go of roughly 10 percent of its workforce, which is about 8,000 employees total. It’s the latest round of job cuts, adding to the roughly 25,000 jobs that have been cut in the past few years as part ofMark Zuckerberg’sYear of Efficiency that started in 2023 and now the latest AI-forward workplace, which he is trying to develop and impose. And while these latest cuts are not as big as some of the rounds of layoffs that have already happened, they’re getting a ton of attention because Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO, has said that the reason they’re happening, in part at least, in large part, is because the company is spending so much money on AI and data centers.Brian Barrett: We record this on a Tuesday, but the reason we’re able to talk so fully and confidently about this is because Meta announced this a while ago.Leah Feiger: Oh, yeah.Zoë Schiffer: They didn’t announce it. The news leaked.Brian Barrett: The news leaked. But then they acknowledged it.Zoë Schiffer: Weeks and weeks later.Brian Barrett: Yes. But still, it’s been a long time—Zoë Schiffer: It’s a long time.Brian Barrett: —that this has been out in the open, which has resulted in, I think, a little bit of chaos time inside of Meta, because you’ve got, a what, a 1 in 10 chance of not having your job anymore?Zoë Schiffer: Yeah it’s, I mean, suffice to say, impacting morale in really horrific ways, but it’s not the only thing, like we said. Mark Zuckerberg is also really encouraging employees to use AI. There’ve been all of these changes internally to that end. Some people really like it and are adopting it. Some people a