Proton apologizes to community after internal memo shows force behind proposed AI use in building its privacy products

Proton has apologized to its community after an internal memo revealed that the company planned to force staff to use AI in building its privacy products, which could result in job losses. Proton CTO, Bart Butler, published an internal AI manifesto on the company blog, stating that the company's use of AI will never compromise security and that it would not re-interview employees about their AI usage.

The company has made three promises to its community: not re-interviewing staff, ensuring AI use never compromises security, and not installing tracking software on employees' laptops to measure AI-generated code production. Butler also clarified that engineers should now focus on helping LLMs write better code faster, emphasizing that their expertise and judgment are still crucial.

Proton has also promised to publicly release several internal tools and publish how code and security reviews are done to maintain transparency. The company's reaction to the leaked memo reflects a commitment to improving its privacy-first AI, Lumo, and addressing any concerns its employees may have had.