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.

Meta's VP of AI research, Joelle Pineau, is planning to leave the company, she announced in a post on Facebook Tuesday.

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