AI's Positive Impact

How Amazon is using AI to drive innovation, improve safety, and create new opportunities for employees

BY KYLE FELL

THE INTEGRATION of artificial intelligence (AI) into business operations is reshaping industries. From manufacturing to healthcare, AI and machine learning services are helping enhance decision-making, optimize processes, and deliver more personalized experiences. They are also making a difference for workers, like those at Amazon’s fulfillment center in Wilmington, Delaware.

AI is important for these employees, in part, because of the new opportunities it can create. Over the past decade, as Amazon deployed more than 750,000 mobile robots across our operations in Delaware and elsewhere, the company has created hundreds of thousands of new jobs and many new categories of technology-enabled roles, including positions like flow control specialists and reliability maintenance engineers.

Our operations business also leverages AI and machine learning services to improve worker safety. For example, Amazon’s robotics technology creates a safer and more ergonomic workplace that reduces repetitive motions and the need to walk long distances or move heavy objects, and it allows our employees to focus on tasks that require problem-solving and other skills.

According to a new study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, most U.S. workers believe employers have a responsibility to upskill employees to work with this new technology. Amazon is deeply committed to this, and we have recently pledged to spend $1.2 billion on free education and skills-based training. Employees can participate in our Mechatronics and Robotics Apprenticeship Program, for example, which teaches them the skills to fulfill a technical maintenance role.

We’re also dedicated to making AI accessible to all through initiatives like Amazon’s AI Ready program, which aims to provide free AI skills training to two million people globally by 2025. We are creating educational opportunities by providing $12 million in scholarships for generative AI learning.

As Amazon integrates AI tools within our operations, we are breaking down barriers so other organizations and businesses can use AI. We are developing and deploying the infrastructure needed to provide access to the technology across industries and businesses of all sizes. Today, more than 100,000 businesses use AI and machine learning services offered through Amazon Web Services.

It’s important to note Amazon’s deep commitment to the safe, secure, and responsible development and deployment of generative AI. Our dedicated team of generative AI and security experts helps us meet these commitments through the development of security testing and controls for our AI models and services.

When it comes to AI, we know customers want choice, and workers want access. Our experience as an innovator, employer, and partner has prepared us to develop, deploy, and integrate AI responsibly into our operations and offerings, so we can ultimately deliver on the promise of this new technology, regardless of industry.

Kyle Fell is the general manager of Amazon’s Boxwood Road facility in Wilmington, Delaware.