Amazon’s software engineers may soon be forced to find responsibilities other than coding due to the rise of artificial intelligence, according to the company’s cloud computing chief.
Amazon Web Services CEO Matt Garman previewed the change in day-to-day responsibilities during a “fireside chat” with the unit’s employees in June, leaked audio obtained by Business Insider on Tuesday revealed.
“If you go ahead 24 months from now, or some time — I can’t predict exactly where it is — it’s possible that most developers aren’t coding,” Garman reportedly told employees.
The remarks came amid an ongoing cost-cutting push at Amazon, which has cut hundreds of jobs within its cloud unit this year, as well as various segments of its business, including streaming services Twitch and Prime Video.
The shift to AI means job expectations for software developers will change, Garman added.
This will allow workers to “continue to improve and learn about new technologies” that will add to their skills.
“It just means that each of us has to be more attuned to what our customers need, and the bottom line is that we’re going to try to build because that’s going to be more and more of what the job is. as opposed to sitting down and actually writing the code,” he said.
Amazon representatives did not immediately return a request for comment.
A company spokesperson told Business Insider that Garman was detailing how AI would allow Amazon developers to “achieve more than they do today.”
Garman’s comments were not a signal that their roles would be reduced, the spokesman added.
“Matt articulated a vision for how AWS will continue to remove undifferentiated heavy lifting from the developer experience so that developers can focus more of their skills and energy on the most innovative work,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
While proponents say AI will simplify work and eliminate unnecessary tasks, rapid advances in technology have raised fears of major job losses.
In January, the International Monetary Fund warned that AI could affect 60% of all US jobs and potentially worsen wealth inequality.
In May 2023, AI pioneer Mustafa Suleyman, who is currently the CEO of Microsoft’s artificial intelligence unit, warned that the technology would create a large number of “very unhappy” white-collar workers who will be forced to leave their professions.
“Undoubtedly, many of the tasks in the white-collar world will look very different in the next five to 10 years,” Suleiman said at an event at the time.
Elsewhere, Emad Mostaque, founder and CEO of Stability AI, predicted last year that “there will be no programmers in five years”.
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