In a significant internal pushback, more than 1,000 employees of the e-commerce behemoth Amazon have publicly challenged the company's leadership over its aggressive pursuit of artificial intelligence. The dissent was formalized in an open letter published on Wednesday, November 26, which argues that the tech giant's 'warp-speed' approach to AI is being implemented without necessary safeguards for workers, democracy, and the planet.
Core Concerns Outlined by Employees
The letter, signed by a diverse group of Amazon staff including engineers, product managers, and warehouse associates, opens with a stark warning. The employees expressed serious concerns about the aggressive AI rollout during a critical time of rising global authoritarianism and the urgent need to address the climate crisis. They believe that the 'all-costs-justified' strategy will cause staggering damage to democracy, jobs, and the Earth.
The staff framed their intervention as a responsibility, stating they are the very people who develop, train, and use these AI systems. They detailed three primary areas of concern. First, they accused Amazon of sidelining its climate goals to build power-hungry AI data centres, with the company's carbon emissions having grown by approximately 35% since 2019. The letter highlights a planned $150 billion investment in new data centres, many in drought-stressed regions, and notes that Amazon even killed clean energy legislation for its data centres.
Job Security and Worker Surveillance
The second major concern revolves around job security and worker treatment. The letter directly references CEO Andy Jassy, who has promised an AI-saturated future for Amazon while simultaneously suggesting the company expects to employ fewer humans. Employees counter that they are facing higher expected output with shorter deadlines, mandates to build AI for futile use cases, and a massive investment in AI that is not matched by investment in their career advancement. They specifically highlighted the difficult conditions for logistics coworkers, who face work speedups, intense surveillance, injuries, and burnout.
AI's Role in Militarisation and Mass Deportations
The third area of alarm involves the potential misuse of Amazon's AI technology. The employees accused the company, alongside peers like Microsoft and Google, of lobbying to ban state AI regulation for a decade. Furthermore, the letter slams Amazon for its collaboration with an autonomous weapons software company and for expanding surveillance, both by monitoring its own warehouse staff and its customers. A particularly sharp accusation claims Amazon is playing a role in enabling mass deportations from the United States.
In conclusion, the employees, who have also garnered support from over 2,400 workers at other tech giants, have demanded that Amazon leadership make three key commitments: no AI powered by dirty energy, no AI developed without employee input, and crucially, no AI used for violence, surveillance, and mass deportation.
