Amazon software engineers may be forced to learn skills besides coding thanks to AI: Cloud chief

Amazon’s software engineers could 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 predicted the shift in daily responsibilities during a “fireside chat” with the unit’s employees in June, leaked audio obtained by Business Insider revealed on Tuesday.

“If you go forward 24 months from now, or some amount of time — I can’t exactly predict where it is — it’s possible that most developers are not coding,” Garman reportedly told employees.

The remarks came amid an ongoing cost-cutting push at Amazon, which has slashed hundreds of jobs within its cloud unit this year as well as various other segments of its business, including streaming services Twitch and Prime Video.

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The shift toward AI means job expectations for software developers will change, Garman added.

It would allow workers to “continue to upskill and learn about new technologies” that will add to their skillset.

“It just means that each of us has to get more in tune with what our customers need and what the actual end thing is that we’re going to try to go build, because that’s going to be more and more of what the work is as opposed to sitting down and actually writing code,” he said.

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A company spokesperson said that Garman was detailing how AI would allow Amazon’s developers to “accomplish more than they do today.”

Garman’s comments were not a signal that their roles would be reduced, the spokesperson added.

“Matt articulated a vision for how AWS will continue to remove undifferentiated heavy lifting from the developer experience so that builders can focus more of their skill and energy on the most innovative work,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

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While proponents say AI will streamline work and eliminate unnecessary tasks, rapid advancements in the technology have stoked fears of major job losses.

In January, the International Monetary Fund warned that AI could affect 60% of all jobs in the US and potentially worsen wealth inequality.

In May 2023, AI pioneer Mustafa Suleyman, who is currently CEO of Microsoft’s in-house AI unit, warned that the technology would create a large number of “very unhappy” white-collar workers who will be forced out of their professions.

“Unquestionably, many of the tasks in white-collar land will look very different in the next five to 10 years,” Suleyman said during 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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