The head of Meta’s artificial intelligence research division said she plans to step down, vacating a high-profile position at the parent company of Facebook and Instagram at a time of intense competition in the development of AI technology.

Her departure comes at a challenging time for Meta. CEO Mark Zuckerberg has made AI a top priority, investing billions of dollars in an effort to become the market leader ahead of

Joelle Pineau said she would step down effective May 30, creating an executive vacancy as the company aggressively invests and competes in the booming sector.