The influence of AI is so enormous that even those who are developing it are at risk.
According to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, artificial intelligence will transform the company’s operations and produce “efficiency gains” that would eventually “reduce our total corporate workforce.”
To put it simply, AI means we’ll need less of you to keep things running. Many Amazon employees didn’t like the message, according to Eugene Kim of BI. One individual said in an internal Slack channel that Eugene visited, “There is nothing more motivating on a Tuesday than reading that your job will be replaced by AI in a few years.”
Sarah E. Needleman has previously discussed how tech leaders have not been shy to share their forecasts about how AI will affect the labor market this year. However, one of the first CEOs of a large tech company to talk about how AI will affect his own employees is Jassy.
Jassy’s statement, which you can read in full here, was vague about when or where such cuts may take place, just stating that they will happen “in the next few years.” Instead, he highlighted Amazon’s AI accomplishments and the vital role AI agents would play in the company’s future.
According to Jassy, these AI-powered assistants will “change the scope and speed” at which Amazon can operate and enable us to begin nearly anything from a more sophisticated starting point.
In the end, the goal of AI agents is to make human labor more productive. If we’ve learned anything in the last several years, it’s that efficiency is highly valued in the tech sector. Career counselors informed that Jassy’s guidance is practical rather than merely idealistic.
Consequently, Amazon is probably not the first Big Tech business to announce that AI would result in job losses.
How can Amazonians, as they call themselves, become ready?
Jassy’s message stated that some divisions are currently using AI agents and that more would be used in other areas. In light of this, it is reasonable to believe that AI will challenge nearly every aspect of Amazon and result in job losses.
No one will be calmed by it, but Jassy did give some guidance. He urged staff members to get knowledgeable about AI and come up with ideas for better ways to use the technology.
According to Jassy, “Those who embrace this shift, learn about AI, and help us develop and enhance our AI capabilities internally and deliver for customers will be well-positioned to have high impact and help us reinvent the company. Don’t believe that everything will all go away if you just put your head in the sand. Some individuals will undoubtedly take offense at that counsel. AI use raises several ethical questions, particularly in the workplace. But ignoring it won’t get you very far, Jassy says. He further said that while many of these agents have not yet been constructed, they are undoubtedly on the way and will arrive quickly.
