A sizzling potato: CEOs like to sing the praises of generative AI whereas tiptoeing across the reality it will value folks their jobs. However Amazon boss Andy Jassy has simply stated the quiet half out loud, admitting that the know-how will scale back the corporate’s company workforce over the subsequent few years.
In a message despatched to staff this week, Jassy stated generative AI was a “once-in-a-lifetime” know-how that fully adjustments what’s potential for purchasers and companies.
Jassy went on to focus on the completely different areas of Amazon the place AI and brokers are being applied. “As we roll out extra generative AI and brokers, it ought to change the best way our work is completed. We are going to want fewer folks doing among the jobs which are being carried out at this time, and extra folks doing different kinds of jobs,” he stated.
The CEO revealed that Amazon now has over 1,000 generative AI providers and functions in progress or constructed, and extra are coming.
Then got here the half most executives skip over: “It is arduous to know precisely the place this nets out over time, however within the subsequent few years, we count on that it will scale back our whole company workforce as we get effectivity beneficial properties from utilizing AI extensively throughout the corporate.”
Andy Jassy actually loves generative AI
Amazon is considered one of many tech giants that has gone all-in on AI since its arrival. Jassy stated final yr that it could possibly be as huge because the cloud and web. He additionally dedicated to spending $100 billion this yr on the know-how.
It could be thrilling and money-saving occasions for Amazon and Jassy, however the firm’s 1.5 million staff are unlikely to be as thrilled.
Jassy did provide some recommendation to fearful employees: “be interested by AI, educate your self, attend workshops and take trainings, use and experiment with AI each time you’ll be able to, take part in your group’s brainstorms to determine how you can invent for our clients extra rapidly and expansively.” All that may probably be helpful as they hunt for a brand new job.
It is not simply company employees which are beneath menace from new know-how. Amazon has launched tons of of hundreds of robots to its warehouses over the previous couple of years. The machines have gotten more and more superior and human-like: the most recent AI-powered mannequin has a way of contact. Amazon can be experimenting with humanoid robots in its supply operations.
A few of these not being changed by AI at Amazon are discovering the know-how is making their lives more durable, not simpler. Software program engineers are actually beneath big strain on the firm as managers increase expectations and tighten deadlines, pushing engineers to undertake AI-powered instruments like Microsoft’s Copilot and Amazon’s assistants to maintain up with the relentless tempo. Improvement groups being minimize in half is exacerbating the state of affairs, which has been in comparison with an meeting line.
The dialog about jobs misplaced to AI has intensified not too long ago. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei not too long ago warned that the know-how may wipe out about half of all entry-level white-collar jobs within the subsequent 5 years, resulting in unemployment spikes of as much as 20%. Nvidia boss Jensen Huang, whose firm is driving the AI revolution with its {hardware}, disagrees – naturally.
