{
  "id": 3948926,
  "title": "Inside Meta’s Push to Put Robots to Work in Data Centers",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/28/inside-metas-push-to-put-robots-to-work-in-data-centers-3948926",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-28T10:56:22.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Wired Business",
    "slug": "wired-business",
    "url": "https://www.wired.com/story/inside-metas-experiments-with-data-center-robots/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Meta is experimenting with using robots from various vendors like Watney Robotics, Kinova, and ABB within their data centers. One experiment involves a Kinova Gen3 robotic arm to perform power cycling, or cutting off electricity to servers. Another robot is being tested to swap networking cables. If successful, these robots could replace up to 80% of certain tasks performed by employees. A worker at Meta notes that physical tasks are no longer safe for human employees. Meta also utilizes a simple robot that resembles a finger, capable of pressing the power button on devices like Mac Mini when prompted remotely. The company emphasizes investing in training and hiring workers for data centers, citing a skilled worker shortage due to America's infrastructure boom. Despite Meta's stance, some employees believe the company's long-term goal is to incorporate robots into data centers for faster incident response, environmental monitoring, and maintenance. Robots could provide more consistent output at lower costs, particularly in areas with a shortage of skilled workers. Some argue robots could take on repetitive and dangerous jobs, allowing human workers to focus on more complex responsibilities. In the long run, robots might enable data centers to operate in inhospitable environments like underwater or in space. However, there are concerns that the quality of available jobs may decline, with Meta potentially hiring lower-skilled workers for cheaper labor. Meta has launched a program to train thousands of individuals in various trades at no cost, with guaranteed employment in specific states for those who complete the training.",
  "summary": "The company is testing robots that can swap cables, reset servers, and take on other tasks performed by technicians, fueling concerns among some workers that their jobs could be at risk.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Wired",
        "title": "Inside Meta’s Push to Put Robots to Work in Data Centers",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/28/inside-metas-push-to-put-robots-to-work-in-data-centers",
        "published": "2026-08-28T10:56:22.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}