What Amazon Doesn’t Want You to Know About Its Automation Strategy

Being at the forefront of automation, why is Amazon downplaying the impact of AI and robotics?

Breakthroughs in machine learning (ML) and robotics are drastically enabling a faster and cheaper means of delivery and manufacturing. We all want our packages instantly at lower costs and companies want higher margins. But what’s the overall impact on our society as we automate more and more tasks in factories and warehouses?

Among the world’s largest companies, Amazon, in particular, has faced heightened scrutiny. The e-commerce giant has been the major driving force behind the now widespread reality of warehouse automation and same-day delivery, pushing its peers and suppliers like DHL to test a range of robotic technology just to keep up.

Amazon was criticized for pressing workers to physical limits while continuously automating jobs, impacting 125,000 full-time hourly associates and an additional 120,000 seasonal workers across its logistics and warehouse centers in the United States. Against the backdrop of public scrutiny, we see Amazon delaying, rather than encouraging, more candid and transparent discussions of how we as a society transition.