Posts

amazon

Amazon to Cut 14,000 Corporate Jobs as It Reshapes Workforce for the AI Era

/in /by

Amazon is preparing for a sweeping transformation driven by its adoption of artificial intelligence, and it’s starting with a major round of layoffs. The tech giant said it plans to eliminate 14,000 corporate roles this year as part of a broader effort to make the company leaner and more adaptable to rapid technological change.

In a memo to employees, Beth Galetti, Amazon’s senior vice president of people experience, said the company would continue investing in “key strategic areas” while identifying “additional places we can remove layers, increase ownership, and realize efficiency gains.”

“Some may ask why we’re reducing roles when the company is performing well. Across our businesses, we’re delivering great customer experiences every day, innovating at a rapid rate, and producing strong business results.”

Galetti emphasized that Amazon’s restructuring is designed to help realize CEO Andy Jassy’s long-held goal of operating “like the world’s biggest startup.” The company, she said, needs to stay nimble in a rapidly evolving AI landscape.

Embed from Getty Images

“What we need to remember is that the world is changing quickly. This generation of AI is the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the Internet, and it’s enabling companies to innovate much faster than ever before. We’re convicted that we need to be organized more leanly, with fewer layers and more ownership, to move as quickly as possible for our customers and business.”

Amazon, which employs more than 350,000 corporate staff globally, will see about 4% of its workforce impacted by the move. The layoffs are expected to begin on Tuesday, with most affected employees given 90 days to find new positions within the company before severance packages take effect. Reuters, which first broke the news, reported the final number could reach as high as 30,000 jobs.

Jassy was candid about AI’s role in reshaping the company’s operations in a June blog post.

“As we roll out more Generative AI and agents, it should change the way our work is done. We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs.”

He added that AI’s reach will extend far beyond Amazon. “Many of these agents have yet to be built, but make no mistake, they’re coming, and coming fast,” he said, predicting that billions of AI agents will eventually operate across industries and disciplines.

Embed from Getty Images

The company’s latest round of reductions follows a difficult stretch in 2023, when Amazon slashed 27,000 positions across its human resources, retail, and AWS divisions amid what they deemed a “worsening global economy.”

Industry analysts view the latest cuts as part of Amazon’s ongoing effort to balance growth with cost efficiency. “Markets across the world are tightening at the same time as underlying costs are rising,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, in a note to investors.

“Amazon is not immune to this, and it needs to act if it wants to continue with a good bottom-line performance. In some ways, this is a tipping point away from human capital to technological infrastructure.”

The layoffs come amid mounting unease about AI’s long-term impact on employment, particularly for younger tech professionals. While automation promises efficiency gains, researchers have warned that fears of mass job replacement may be overstated for now.

Still, Amazon’s restructuring underscores a reality facing much of the tech world, that the push toward an AI-first future may mean fewer humans in traditional corporate roles.

robot

Amazon Tests Humanoid Robots for Delivery as Part of Expanding Automation Strategy

/in /by

Amazon is reportedly taking its automation ambitions to the next level, developing humanoid robots designed to assist with and potentially replace human delivery workers.

According to tech outlet The Information, the $2 trillion tech giant is constructing a dedicated “humanoid park” in the U.S., where robots will be tested in indoor environments before being deployed in the field.

The space, described as roughly the size of a coffee shop, is housed within an Amazon office in San Francisco and serves as an obstacle course to gauge how well these machines can navigate real-world delivery scenarios.

The goal? To create robots that can ride inside Amazon’s Rivian delivery vans and “spring out” to make deliveries. While human drivers may still be present, these robots could allow for multi-drop efficiency — for instance, enabling the robot to handle one address while the driver tackles another. It’s part of Amazon’s broader vision for streamlining the notoriously labor-intensive “last mile” of delivery.

Although Amazon is spearheading the development of the software that will power the robots’ artificial intelligence, it is reportedly relying on external companies to build the physical hardware.

Embed from Getty Images

One such company is Agility Robotics, whose “Digit” robot has already been tested in Amazon warehouses. Agility’s CEO Peggy Johnson said in an earlier interview with The Guardian that Digit has enabled workers to offload tasks and transition into other roles.

“Employees who were previously doing this physical work appreciate the fact that they can hand that off to Digit. Then it allows them to do a number of other things, one of which is to be a robot manager.”

Sarah Franklin, the CEO of Lattice, a technology company based in the United States that offers a platform for human resources departments, stated that the workforce landscape is set to undergo significant transformation due to the influence of artificial intelligence.

Entry-level positions serve as the foundation of a workforce, with opportunities becoming increasingly selective as individuals progress into management and executive roles.

“AI can make this more of a diamond shape, where the entry levels are harder to get. The pace of innovation is outpacing education. That is a dangerous future if we don’t rapidly invest in ensuring that everyone is proficient with AI, especially entry-level workers.”

Amazon’s humanoid testing zone reportedly includes one of its more than 20,000 Rivian electric vans currently in operation across the U.S. Once the robots pass initial tests in the controlled indoor course, Amazon plans to send them on supervised “field trips” to deliver packages in real residential environments.

Embed from Getty Images

The company’s ambitions in autonomous delivery aren’t limited to humanoids. Amazon has also invested heavily in self-driving technology via its Zoox subsidiary and has received clearance to test drone deliveries beyond the line of sight of human operators in the UK, a significant step toward drone-based logistics.

Experts say the vision is ambitious but not entirely out of reach. Professor Subramanian Ramamoorthy, chair of robot learning and autonomy at the University of Edinburgh, said Amazon’s interest in robotic last-mile delivery aligns with its deep investment in automation. While the field of humanoid robotics has made significant strides in recent years, Ramamoorthy noted that reliable outdoor performance remains a major hurdle.

Achieving consistent success outside of tightly controlled test environments, such as the so-called ‘humanoid park,’ is still a real challenge, he explained.

“If Amazon restricts the scope, which means using relatively clear driveways and standard layouts of doors and surroundings, then the task would be quite a bit simpler. As the environments become more complex and variable, and others enter the picture – such as pets and small children – the problems become harder.”

Still, with a robust internal robotics team and a growing ecosystem of AI and delivery infrastructure, Amazon seems well-positioned to be a frontrunner in the future of humanoid logistics — one where robots could soon be walking packages up to your doorstep.

automation

The Ultimate Impact of Intelligent Automation Will Not Just Be Measured by Its Efficiency, but Also by How It Will Uplift Humanity | Dr. Asish Banerjee

/in , , , /by

From robot-assisted surgery to email spam filters, there is much we gain from artificial intelligence. However, people are often wary of systems that they don’t fully understand. Dr. Ashis Banerjee, an associate professor of industrial and systems engineering and mechanical engineering at the University of Washington, has made it his mission to educate people about the ways in which automation can contribute to the betterment of humankind.

Read more
AI

Man Wins Art Fair With AI Generated Art

/in , /by

A video game designer in Pueblo, Colorado, won an art fair with artwork generated by artificial intelligence software. Jason M. Allen entered his work titled “Théâtre D’opéra Spatial” into a state fair and received first place, winning a prize of $300. He had spent 80 hours tinkering with an AI art generator named Midjourney to create his final piece.

The two competition judges, Cal Duran and Dagny McKinley told The Pueblo Chieftain that while they did not know an AI created the work, they still would have awarded Allen the prize. In Duran’s mind, the chief purpose of any artwork is to tell a story.

“Even as this controversy is coming out, it’s still invoking that. It’s still causing an uproar. That in itself is kind of remarkable.”

Embed from Getty Images

In order to generate art using an AI like Midjourney, a user must input keywords that the AI uses to make associations between prompts and images on the internet. It recognizes shapes, colors, and patterns within existing art and photos. The resulting piece of art is an amalgamation of those elements.

The recent development of AI-generated art engines such as DALL-E has started a debate on the ethics of art and the implications of automating creativity. While automation is becoming increasingly more common in other sectors of society, people previously considered the automation of art, music and writing beyond technological capability.

Even iPhone users can download AI art generators from Apple’s app store, albeit much weaker ones. Nonetheless, these apps can craft a piece of art within 15 seconds based on as little as one keyword. Even an online poetry generator titled “Verse by Verse” exists. Google programmed the software to compose poetry in the voice of historically famous poets.

Allen told The Pueblo Chieftain that Midjourney had also aided his team in creating concept art for their game designs. While inputting keywords may seem easy, Allen claims it is difficult to put in a prompt that is just right to generate the desired image.

Embed from Getty Images

Judge McKinley is optimistic about the replicability of the quote-on-quote “artist” if AI art becomes commonplace. “Yes, it will likely take away some jobs from artists, but the technology exists and we can’t go backwards,” McKinley said.

“For me, nothing can replicate human work because human work is flawed and it is those flaws that bring humanity to art. How does an artist create their own style and voice? That is what makes art interesting.”

Understandably, many artists are unhappy with the potential automation of the creative process.

RJ Palmer, a concept artist, wrote on Twitter, “what makes this AI different is that it’s explicitly trained on current working artists.” Artists are not paid for their work but instead used to generate digital art pulled from their original ideas. Palmer writes that it is “actively anti-artist.”

Food Waste

AI Pioneer Winnow Vision Helps to Combat Global Food Waste

/in , /by

Winnow Vision is building artificial intelligence tools to help chefs run more profitable and sustainable kitchens by cutting food waste in half. Its recent success in securing $12m in fundraising follows an $8m loan from The European Investment Bank (EIB) which in total means the firm has raised a staggering $20m in the last month.

Ingenious was the latest to announce that its Infrastructure Ventures EIS Service has invested in Winnow, the technology company behind Winnow Vision, the artificial intelligence tool helping chefs cut food waste in half, as it completes its series B round of funding at $12m. Other co-investors in this fund raising round include Ingka Investments, Mustard Seed, Circularity Capital, D-Ax in addition to Ingenious. This follows a recent loan from The European Investment Bank (EIB) and in total means the firm has raised $20m in the last month, allowing it to focus on global markets. Ingenious co-invested in the latest funding round through the Infrastructure Ventures EIS Service, representing its third investment to date.

Winnow believes that food is far too valuable to waste and that technology can transform the way food is used. For this reason, their mission is to help the hospitality industry tackle avoidable food waste by connecting the kitchen, empowering chefs to run a more efficient operation.

Embed from Getty Images

According to the Winnow website, food prices have risen by 120% since 2000 and most commercial kitchens simply don’t know how much they waste – traditional manual tracking using pen and paper is prone to error and costs staff valuable time while generating only marginal reductions in waste. In fact, commercial kitchens waste up to as much food as they generate in profits! The hospitality sector wastes 600,000 tonnes of food per year compared to the retail sector (including supermarkets) which wastes 400,000 tonnes of food per year (WRAP). What’s more, almost two thirds of the food waste the hospitality sector sends to landfill could have been avoided (DEFRA Food statistics pocketbook 2013 refers to waste from hotels, pubs, restaurants and quick service restaurants).

Launched in a single staff restaurant in 2013, Winnow has been adopted by more than 1,000 sites globally and is now operating in 40 countries with offices in London, Dubai, Singapore, Shanghai, Cluj-Napoca and Iowa City. Winnow’s latest AI product Winnow Vision, the most advanced food waste technology on the market, has been developed to automate waste tracking, enabling chefs to run more profitable and sustainable kitchens. With global clients already adopting Winnow Vision, from IKEA stores through to the Armani Hotel in Dubai, the demand by companies to drive down food waste in 2019 is increasing.

Winnow’s systems have already reached and surpassed human levels of accuracy in identifying wasted foods.

Kitchens using Winnow tend to see a 40-70% reduction in food waste within 6-12 months, driving food cost savings between 2-8% in total, which improves profit margins whilst operating in an ethical manner.

Guy Ranawake, Investment Director at Ingenious, commented: “We are very happy to support Winnow and look forward to seeing the growth of the company which aligns strongly with our investment strategy and sector focus, including resource efficiency.”

Marc Zornes, CEO at Winnow, said: “We are very excited about driving the business forward in our global fight against food waste and we are grateful for the continuous support of our investors. This year we launched our ground-breaking AI product Winnow Vision, and chefs using Winnow around the world are saving $33m worth of food from going to waste annually. We have set a target to save our customers $1bn by 2025, and this investment will accelerate our technology development and business development approach to help achieve this ambition.”

Embed from Getty Images

Winnow Vision works by taking photos of wasted food as it’s thrown away and uses the images to train itself to recognise what has been discarded. Winnow’s systems have already reached and surpassed human levels of accuracy in identifying wasted foods. This means for clients, over time, these systems will enable their kitchens to automatically register food waste without any human interaction. Food will be thrown in the bin and the data will be captured automatically.

The transaction was led by Ingenious’ infrastructure division and represents the third investment from the Infrastructure Ventures EIS Service, following the backing of Over-C, an analytics company focused on operational performance in the workforce management market and Reactive Technologies, a world leading technology platform facilitating the transition to a low carbon future.

Ingenious is an FCA regulated alternative investment manager that specialises in media, infrastructure, real estate and education. Founded in 1998, the company has raised and deployed over £9 billion of capital on behalf of clients across all the operating divisions since inception. Ingenious’ infrastructure division has deployed over £720m in energy infrastructure projects since it was established in 2011 across the UK, Republic of Ireland and Australia. A dedicated team of some 30 investment professionals have experience across investment, finance, law, accountancy and engineering. The infrastructure management team benefits from lengthy experience in the origination, execution and management of investments in the infrastructure sector and related technologies, including energy, mobility, digital and resource efficiency.

Podium Speaker

Andrew Yang Stands Out in a Crowded Field

/in , /by

Andrew Yang is not a typical presidential candidate. For one, his signature campaign promise, at first glance, seems patently absurd – if elected, he promises to institute what he calls the “Freedom Dividend,” a promise to give every American adult $1,000 a month, for free, no strings attached.

Read more
Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence: Friend or Foe?

/in , /by

The relationship we currently have with artificial intelligence is highly complex. But as technology inevitably improves, and artificial intelligence becomes even more deeply ingrained into our lives, the number of problems it creates will only expand.

Read more