SCIENCE & TECH: Amazon coders say they’ve had to work harder, faster by using AI

Software engineers at Amazon say artificial intelligence is transforming their work — not by replacing them, but by pressuring them to code faster, meet higher output targets and rely more heavily on tools they don’t fully control, according to a report.

The shift has sparked growing concerns that AI is turning once-thoughtful work into an assembly line job, with some employees comparing it to the automation wave that reshaped Amazon’s warehouses.

“My team is roughly half the size it was last year,” one Amazon engineer told the New York Times, adding, “but we’re expected to produce the same amount of code thanks to AI.”

Engineers who spoke to the Times describe a culture where AI adoption is technically optional, but failing to use it risks falling behind.

Code that once took weeks to develop must now be delivered in days, according to the Times.

Feedback sessions are cut short. And developers are being pushed to let AI not just suggest lines of code but write entire programs, the Times reported.

“It’s more fun to write code than to read code,” said longtime programmer and blogger Simon Willison.

“When you’re working with these tools, [code review] is most of the job.”

Amazon has defended the changes.

In a recent letter to shareholders, CEO Andy Jassy called generative AI a tool for “productivity and cost avoidance,” especially in coding.

“If we don’t get our customers what they want as quickly as possible, our competitors will,” he wrote.

The company has also encouraged employees to develop new internal AI tools at hackathons and says it reviews staffing regularly to ensure workloads are manageable.

Still, three current engineers told the Times that deadlines have become less forgiving and that output expectations have quietly surged.

One said AI is increasingly used to write memos and test software — tasks that once served as learning experiences for junior staff. The worry is that in automating such work, engineers may lose vital skills and have fewer opportunities to prove themselves for promotions.

Amazon spokesman Brad Glasser told the Times that AI is intended to augment engineers’ expertise, not replace it, and that the company’s promotion paths remain clear and performance-based.

The shift has ignited broader unease inside Amazon. A group called Amazon Employees for Climate Justice has become a sounding board for worker concerns, including AI’s impact.

“The complaints have centered around ‘what their careers are going to look like,’” said former Amazon employee Eliza Pan, a spokesperson for the group.

“And not just their careers, but the quality of the work.”

For Amazon’s coders, the parallels are personal. They’ve watched the company’s warehouse workers shift from walking miles each day to standing in place while robots deliver inventory — boosting efficiency but making jobs more repetitive.

“Now,” one engineer told the Times, “it feels like we’re going through the same thing.”

The Post has sought comment from Amazon.