Amazon has slandered a million robots. Is it time for people to worry?
Amazon has officially assembled an army of one million robots, which are now actively working in its warehouses around the world. No other business on the planet has ever had such a large number of mobile robots - a record.
What we know
The company added its millionth iron work unit in a warehouse in Japan, Amazon announced in a press release on Monday. In total, Amazon has more than 300 warehouses in different countries, and this seems to be just the beginning.
In addition to increasing the number of robots, the company is also pumping them with artificial intelligence. Recently, Amazon introduced a generative AI model called DeepFleet, which manages the "traffic" of robots in the workshops. According to Scott Dresser, Head of Robotics, DeepFleet reduces robot travel time by 10%, which means less congestion, more efficient routes, and faster order packaging.
Currently, robots help to make about 75% of Amazon's global deliveries, the Wall Street Journal reports. And the pace of robotisation is frantic. According to the National Employment Law Project, while the company is building new warehouses, Amazon's employee turnover is twice as high as the industry average. It seems that metal employees are gradually starting to take over from humans.
Amazon, of course, assures that robots do not take away jobs, but create them. For example, the new warehouse in Shreveport, Louisiana, uses 10 times more robots than other similar facilities. But at the same time, the number of people there is 30% higher - engineers, maintenance and reliability specialists are needed.
However, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy admits quite frankly that some professions will be destroyed by AI. In June, he warned employees in a memo that the company would need fewer people in some roles and more in others. In an interview with CNBC on Monday, he reiterated the same point: "As with any technological transformation, some jobs will be automated. But new ones will be created."
It sounds optimistic. But perhaps not for everyone.
Source: qz.com
