The 404 Media Podcast: Meta Tells Workers to ‘Go 5x Faster’ with AI

Date: October 15, 2025
Hosts: Joseph, Sam Cole, Jason Kebler

Overview

This episode of the 404 Media Podcast dives into two major topics:

1. Meta’s internal directive for Metaverse workers to use AI to achieve five times higher productivity ("go 5x faster"), analyzing what this means for tech labor, the state of the Metaverse within Meta, and its implications for the broader industry.
2. A catastrophic Discord breach, exploring the dangers of increasing reliance on age verification, how such requirements undermine user privacy, and the real-life fallout from this type of data exposure.

The podcast is hosted by three 404 Media founders, who bring their investigative reporting expertise and offbeat, sometimes biting, tone to the discussion.

Key Discussion Points

1. Announcements & Housekeeping

• New Investigative Project with Muckrock on Book Bans and Educational Censorship
  • The team announces a collaborative project to investigate book bans and curriculum changes via extensive FOIA requests. They're inviting tips from librarians, school board members, and concerned parents (00:48–03:48).
  • “We’re going to do a project where we are going to file a lot of FOIAs about book bans and educational censorship and curriculum changes and things of that nature.” – Joseph, (00:52)
• Merchandise Restock
  • Introduction of new and restocked items in the 404 Media Shop (03:48-03:57).

2. Meta’s “Go 5x Faster with AI” Mandate

The Internal Memo (04:00–11:19)

• Background:
  • Meta has shifted from its Metaverse obsession to an AI-first strategy, but is still pushing the Metaverse division to ramp up productivity via AI.
• Internal Message Details:
  • Vishal Shah (VP of Metaverse) posted an internal message—titled "Metaverse AI4P" (AI for Productivity)—telling workers:
    “Think 5x, not 5%. Our goal is simple, yet audacious. Make AI a habit, not a novelty… I want to see us go 5x faster by eliminating the frictions that slow us down… Imagine a world where anyone can rapidly prototype an idea, and feedback loops are measured in hours, not weeks. That’s the future we’re building.” – Reading from Vishal Shah’s memo, paraphrased by Joseph (05:37–06:45)
• Who's Behind the Message?
  • Not from Zuckerberg, but from Vishal Shah, current VP of Metaverse at Meta (05:30–05:37).

Reaction and Analysis (11:03–15:44)

• Host Perspective:
  • Joseph and Jason find the directive unsurprising (“Weirdly, I’m not surprised at all” – Joseph, 11:19), noting Meta and other tech giants have been angling to massively increase productivity via AI, especially coding agents.
  • “This isn’t like, oh, we can get a little more productivity… It’s like: no, do five times the amount of work that you’re doing right now. So, I mean, think about that. Do five days worth of work in one day.” – Joseph (12:53)
  • They question the realism and ethics of expecting such increases, warning it implies downsizing, more layoffs, and labor precarity.
• Notable Quote:
  • “Even if Meta deploys all of these coding agents… how can you possibly 5x a person’s output?” – Jason Kebler (13:09)

Worker Sentiment & Meta’s Direction (16:22–18:37)

• Worker Reaction/Vibe:
  • Reports of low morale; Metaverse workers feel like “an afterthought,” moving from one “shiny new toy” to another as leadership priorities shift.
  • “The vibes are not good on the Metaverse team in particular… After so much money was poured into it, Zuckerberg has shown himself to be interested in chasing whatever shiny new thing there is.” – Joseph (16:40)
  • Metaverse now seen more for military-industrial applications than community or entertainment.
• Big Tech Imitation:
  • Amazon CEO Andy Jassy also referenced AI-driven workforce reductions. Other companies are following the same AI-for-productivity script (20:02–21:31).

Broader Job Market Implications (21:32–22:50)

• Industrywide Effects:
  • Stagnant tech hiring, layoffs, and a labor market that’s rough except in AI/adjoining sectors.
  • “The entire rest of the economy is… very stagnant at the moment. So— not good? Not good.” – Joseph (22:49)

3. Discord Hack: Age Verification Gone Wrong

What Happened? (26:35–31:57)

• Nature of the Breach:
  • Hackers breached a third-party provider (5CA), leaking highly sensitive data tied to Discord’s age appeals process—selfies, IDs, emails, sometimes attached to support tickets.
  • “There are selfies in there, people’s identity documents… you have to take a photo of your face and hold up your ID… It’s really, really sensitive stuff.” – Jason (27:22)
  • Data was publicized bit by bit on a Telegram channel as extortion against Discord.
• Not a Direct Discord Breach:
  • Attack was on a third-party services provider (5CA), not on Discord itself (29:00–29:20).

Privacy Risks & Age Verification Critique (31:57–36:45)

• Sam’s Analysis:
  • Ongoing warnings about risks with age-verification laws actualized; with more platforms requiring IDs, attackers are incentivized to target these "honeypots."
  • “Now, I think we’re finally seeing it happen in real life. It’s no longer hypothetical… bad actors are savvy to how it works and know that there’s basically a honeypot waiting on any of these platforms that have age verification in place.” – Sam (33:16)
• Impact on User Segments:
  • Most users will continue using these platforms despite the risks—apathy, distrust, and nihilism about privacy are growing.
  • “I think we’re just in such like a nihilistic zone with our privacy that... the effect on the way we see our privacy is eroding.” – Sam (36:24)
• Systemic Problem:
  • Users have no power to choose more secure third-party providers; as more state laws require these systems, breaches will only get more common (36:45–38:06).

Context and Ripple Effects (38:06–42:59)

• Precedents and Expanding Risks:
  • Similar incidents have occurred (e.g., with Uber/TikTok), but this is more direct and malicious.
• Big Picture:
  • As age verification becomes more widespread—and as “adult” or “restricted” content categories expand—sensitive data collection will only grow and so will the risk.
  • “Very hard as a user to vet the security of any given service that does this. And as these laws get more and more onerous… it's becoming very, very difficult to avoid this.” – Joseph (36:45)
• Case-in-Point: OpenAI’s Age Gate
  • Reference to Sam Altman declaring that, to allow adult content (erotica) in ChatGPT, OpenAI will implement age gating (likely also involving ID and selfie upload), compounding the privacy risk (39:00–40:59).

Breach Details Clarified (42:59–44:30)

• Appeals vs. Verification:
  • Distinction between “age-related appeals” (when users must prove they’re old enough after being locked out) and general “age verification” required to access certain platforms; both are increasing leak risks.
  • “There’s no indication that the breach necessarily impacts age verification stuff… but again, that’s really, really sensitive stuff.” – Jason (43:00)

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Quote | Speaker | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------| | 05:53 | “Think 5x, not 5%. Our goal is simple, yet audacious. Make AI a habit, not a novelty…” | Vishal Shah (read by Joseph) | | 11:19 | “Weirdly, I’m not surprised at all… this is what we’ve been talking about for quite some time.” | Joseph | | 12:53 | “It’s like: no, do five times the amount of work that you’re doing right now. So… five days’ worth of work in one day.” | Joseph | | 16:40 | “The vibes are not good on the Metaverse team in particular… they feel like an afterthought.” | Joseph | | 20:45 | “Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said something quite similar earlier… [AI] will reduce our total corporate workforce…” | Joseph | | 27:22 | “There are selfies in there, people’s identity documents… you have to take a photo of your face and hold up your ID…” | Jason | | 33:16 | “We’re finally seeing it happen in real life… there’s basically a honeypot waiting on any of these platforms that have age verification…” | Sam | | 36:24 | “I think we’re just in such like a nihilistic zone with our privacy… the effect on the way we see our privacy is eroding.” | Sam |

Important Segment Timestamps

• New Project on Educational Censorship – 00:48–03:48
• Meta’s “Go 5x Faster” Memo Discussion Begins – 04:00
• Quoting and Analyzing Vishal Shah’s Internal Message – 05:37–06:45
• Worker Sentiment and Meta’s Direction – 16:22–18:37
• AI and its Job Market Impact – 20:02–22:50
• Discord Breach Overview – 26:35–29:20
• Privacy Risks of Age Verification – 31:57–38:06
• OpenAI’s Age Gate and Implications – 39:00–40:59
• Clarification of Appeals vs. Verification – 42:12–44:30

Summary Tone and Language

• The hosts maintain a dry, skeptical, and sometimes sarcastic tone—especially when critiquing big tech’s AI and privacy positions.
• They balance tech industry analysis with practical concern for ordinary workers and users.
• Language is informal but incisive, punctuated with the occasional f-bomb and with clear attribution for notable statements.

For Listeners Who Missed It

This episode exposes how tech’s AI efficiency hype often translates to unrealistic workloads and looming layoffs, with Meta’s Metaverse ambitions set as a case study. In parallel, it illustrates the real and lasting consequences of mandated age verification, as shown in the Discord/5CA breach—proving that warnings about privacy risks are no longer hypothetical. With sharp insight, firsthand reporting, and a bit of wariness, 404 Media digs into the dynamics shaping work and privacy in today’s digital world.