Amazon software engineers say artificial intelligence is transforming their work – not replacing them, but pressuring them to encode faster, meet higher output objectives and rely more on the tools they do not fully control, according to a report.
The change has sparked increasing concerns that he is returning to work once thoughtful at a assembly line job, with some employees comparing it to the wave of automation that reshaped Amazon warehouses.
“My team is approximately half the size last year,” Amazon engineer told the New York Times, adding, “but we are expected to produce the same amount of code thanks to it.”
Engineers who spoke about time describe a culture where the adoption of it is technically optional, but the failure to use it risks falling back.
The code that once lasted a week to develop now has to be delivered a day, according to Times.
Feedback sessions have been cut. And developers are pushing to allow it not only to suggest code lines, but write entire programs, reported Times.
“More fun to write code than reading the code,” said long programmer and blogger Simon Willison.
“When you are working with these tools, [code review] It’s most of the job. “
Amazon has defended the changes.
In a recent letter to shareholders, CEO Andy Jassy called it a tool for “productivity and cost avoidance”, especially in coding.
“If we don’t get our customers what they want as soon as possible, our competitors will,” he wrote.
The company has also encouraged employees to develop new internal tools at HACKATHONS and says it reviews staff regularly to ensure that work loads are manageable.
However, three current engineers told Times that the deadlines have become less forgiving and that production expectations have increased quietly.
One said that he is increasingly used to write test memorandums and software – tasks that once served as teaching experiences for the new staff. The concern is that in automation of such work, engineers can lose life skills and have less opportunity to prove themselves for promotion.
Amazon’s spokesman Brad Glasser told Times that he aims to increase engineers’ expertise, not replace it, and that the company’s promotion paths remain clear and performance -based.
The change has sparked a wider concern within the Amazon. A group called Amazon employee for climate justice has become a healthy board for workers’ concerns, including the influence.
“Complaints are focused on” how their careers will look like, “said Amazon Eliza Pan, a group spokesman.
“And not just their career, but the quality of work.”
For the coders of Amazon, the parallels are personal. They have watched company warehouse workers move from miles to stand every day to stay in the country while robots offer inventory – increasing efficiency, but making jobs more recurring.
“Now,” told one engineer Times, “feels like we’re going through the same thing.”
The post has requested comment from Amazon.
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