Top related persons:
Top related locs:
Top related orgs:

Search resuls for: "astewart@insider.com"


25 mentions found


Amazon is warning employees not to use third-party generative AI tools for work, according to multiple internal guidances viewed by Business Insider. Amazon's internal third-party generative AI use and interaction policy, viewed by BI, warns that the companies offering generative AI services may take a license to or ownership over anything employees input into tools like OpenAI's ChatGPT. Amazon's internal generative AI policy states employees can use third-party models for work if they obtain director and legal approval and comply with any applicable security reviews. Amazon's spokesperson Adam Montgomery said the company has been developing generative AI and large machine learning models for a long time and employees use its AI models every day. "We have safeguards in place for employee use of these technologies, including guidance on accessing third-party generative AI services and protecting confidential information," Montgomery said.
Persons: Amazon's, Adam Montgomery, Montgomery, Ashley Stewart, Eugene Kim Organizations: Business, BI, Microsoft Locations: OpenAI
Rubén Caballero, the ex-Apple executive Microsoft hired in 2020 to run device engineering in mixed reality and AI, appears to have quietly left the company. Microsoft also recently published a post stating its commitment to the HoloLens 2 device and mixed reality. Caballero worked for Apple from 2005 to 2014, including a stint as president of engineering. Microsoft hired Caballero in 2020 to work on devices such as HoloLens in the company's mixed reality and AI organization. Caballero joined Panay's Windows and Devices organization in 2022, and Microsoft has whittled down some hardware teams since then.
Persons: Rubén Caballero, Caballero, Microsoft's, Frank Shaw, Panos Panay, Ashley Stewart Organizations: Apple, Microsoft, Business, Amazon, Insiders, BI, Windows, Panay's Windows Locations: Panay
Read previewA small number of Amazon employees are discussing unionizing over the company's return-to-office policy. AdvertisementAmazon's RTO policy is unusually strict. Some Amazon employees recently took to the Slack channel to announce their resignations specifically over the return-to-hub policy. "Tomorrow is my last day at Amazon," one of the employees wrote in December. Unionization among corporate tech employees is rare.
Persons: , RTO, Ashley Stewart Organizations: Service, Business, Amazon, Amazonians Locations: Staten Island
Read previewThe recent firing and rehiring of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has put his leadership and personality under a microscope. People who have worked closely with Altman told Business Insider the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Advertisement"The thing I loved about OpenAI is you got to be heard," a former employee told BI. Relationship with MicrosoftWhile Altman is approachable, insiders said his obsession with growing the company can make him seem terse, impatient and superior to other "big tech" companies. AdvertisementAre you a Microsoft or OpenAI employee, or someone else with information to share?
Persons: , Sam Altman, Altman, he's, He's, OpenAI's cofounders, Altman's, Satya Nadella, There's, OpenAI, doesn't, they've, Mira Murati, Sam, that's, Ashley Stewart, Kali Hays, Darius Rafieyan Organizations: Service, Washington Post, Business, Microsoft, Google, OpenAI Locations: astewart@insider.com, khays@insider.com, drafieyan@insider.com
Read previewThe firing and rehiring of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has undone months of effort by Microsoft to avoid antitrust regulators probing its massive investment in the startup. It's tough to keep a huge business partnership like this out of what can be intense scrutiny from antitrust regulators. Nadella agreed to give Altman and Brockman their own research arm at Microsoft, if he couldn't negotiate their return to OpenAI. Another interpretation is that Microsoft is keen to show antitrust regulators that OpenAI is an independent company, and not controlled by the software giant. AdvertisementDo you work for OpenAI or Microsoft, or are you someone with a tip or insight to share?
Persons: , Sam Altman, Lina Khan, OpenAI, Altman, Satya Nadella, Kevin Scott didn't, Kevin, Satya, Microsoft's, Brad Smith, Frank Shaw, Sam, Nadella, Altman's, Greg Brockman, Brockman, Amy Hood, ChatGPT, doesn't, Kali Hays, Ashley Stewart, Darius Rafieyan Organizations: Service, Microsoft, Business, FTC, OpenAI, Activision, Blizzard, Markets, Bloomberg, Chief Locations: OpenAI, khays@insider.com, astewart@insider.com
AI was a major focus of questions from Microsoft investors during the event. AdvertisementOn Thursday, Microsoft executives made a point to assure investors that it has many irons in the fire when it comes to AI, not just OpenAI. Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood jumped in to emphasize the company has AI partners beyond OpenAI. AdvertisementAs Business Insider recently reported, the chaos at OpenAI caused some partners to start looking for a "plan B" for their AI model needs. Are you an OpenAI, or Microsoft employee, or someone with a tip or insight to share?
Persons: , OpenAI, Sam Altman, Altman, Satya Nadella, Nadella, Amy Hood, Hood, Ashley Stewart Organizations: Service, Business, Microsoft Locations: OpenAI, astewart@insider.com
After the sudden ouster of their CEO, hundreds of OpenAI employees signed an open letter demanding Altman's reinstatement and the resignation of the board. And for at least some of those OpenAI employees, there's relief that they don't actually have to go work for Microsoft. Advertisement"Even though we have a partnership with Microsoft, internally, we have no respect for their talent bar," the current OpenAI employee told BI. Money, the great motivatorBeyond the culture clash between the two companies, there was another important factor at play for OpenAI employees: money. Furious Microsoft employeesSome Microsoft employees, meanwhile, were furious that the company promised to match salaries for hundreds of OpenAI employees.
Persons: , Sam Altman, Altman, Greg Brockman, Brockman, OpenAI, who's, Kali Hays, Ashley Stewart, Darius Rafieyan Organizations: Service, OpenAI, Microsoft, Business, BI, San, CNBC Locations: OpenAI ., San Francisco, OpenAI, khays@insider.com, astewart@insider.com
Some Amazon employees have noticed an increasing number of Slack messages lately from colleagues who are quitting over the company's strict return-to-office mandate. Many Amazon employees received deadlines for starting to work in offices and the uptick in departures may be related to teams nearing those various deadlines. "This [is] my last day at Amazon," another AWS employee wrote on Friday. However, BI has asked the company for comment on its RTO policy many times in recent months. "Tomorrow is my last day at Amazon," one Amazon employee wrote on Thursday.
Persons: Slack, RTO, Merritt Baer, Brad Glasser, there's, we've, Ashley Stewart Organizations: Business, Amazon, Web Services, BI Locations: RTO
Apple just indefinitely suspended internal Slack channels for Jewish and Muslim employees after deleting messages about the Israel-Hamas war, according to internal messages viewed by Insider. We saw and heard your feedback," a leader of Apple's Muslim employee resource group wrote. "We've collectively decided that the only sustainable path forward is to briefly pause the Apple Muslim Slack channel. The Apple Jewish Slack channel will do the same." Microsoft recently shut down a discussion between employees, according to internal messages viewed by Insider.
Persons: We've, Apple, Tim Cook, he's, Cook Organizations: Apple, Microsoft Locations: Israel, Gaza
Amazon is discontinuing its Honeycode app-building cloud service. The announcement confirms Insider's earlier report that Amazon was phasing out the service. Users will no longer be able to use Honeycode or any of the apps they created on it in February. Amazon announced plans to discontinue its Honeycode app-building cloud service, confirming Insider's earlier report that the company was phasing out the service. "To our valued customers: After careful consideration, we have made the decision to end the Amazon Honeycode beta service, effective February 29, 2024," Amazon's Honeycode Community page states.
Persons: Insider's, Honeycode, Adam Bosworth, Bosworth, Adam Seligman, Seligman, Eugene Kim, Ashley Stewart Organizations: Amazon, Google, Microsoft Locations: Honeycode, Amazon
Notably, the company froze salaries this year and cut its budget for bonuses and stock awards. An internal guide tells managers how to answer when employees ask how those changes impact pay. And now a guide for managers conducting performance reviews, viewed by Insider, instructs managers on how to answer when employees ask how these budget cuts impact an individual's pay. Managers should not use the budget cuts as an "explanation" for compensation decisions for individual employees and instead should emphasize that the employee's own "impact" determines "rewards." "Using budgets or factors besides the employee's impact as an explanation for an employee's rewards will erode trust and confidence within your team," the guide continues.
Persons: Satya Nadella, Kathleen Hogan, Hogan, Ashley Stewart Organizations: Microsoft, Insider
Zoom execs told employees Workvivo wins 80% of sales versus Microsoft's "clunky" competitor, Viva. Zoom earlier this year acquired the Irish employee engagement platform Workvivo founded in 2017. Microsoft introduced its own, similarly named Viva employee engagement platform in 2021 and earlier this year updated it to include its employee message board Yammer, now called Viva Engage. Workvivo Head of Sales DJ Cahill told employees that when Zoom's product is competing with Microsoft Viva, Workvivo wins 70% to 80% of those sales. Employee engagement software is a relatively young market that combines workplace chat tools with areas for corporate news, employee goal tracking, employee directories and the like.
Persons: Zoom execs, Workvivo, DJ Cahill, Cahill, Eric Yuan, execs, , Yuan, Ashley Stewart Organizations: Microsoft, Viva Engage, Microsoft Viva
The move is surprising given how much the company benefitted from remote work. The remote work revolution is officially dead. Zoom, one of the main enablers and beneficiaries of remote work, just asked its employees to head back to the office. Those who live within 50 miles of a Zoom office must now work there at least two days a week, the company confirmed. Many companies have started to require office work this year, but Zoom's change of heart is surprising given the role its technology plays in remote work.
Persons: Zoom, they'd, We'll, Ashley Stewart
Salesforce Chief People Officer Brent Hyder is leaving the company. His exit was announced in an internal Slack message viewed by Insider. Salesforce Chief People Officer Brent Hyder is leaving the company, according to an internal message viewed by Insider. "It's with mixed emotions that I share Brent Hyder has decided to leave Salesforce to pursue a new opportunity," Chief Operating Officer Brian Millham wrote in an internal Slack message. I'm proud of all that we've accomplished together — within the company and within our communities," Hyder wrote in an internal message.
Persons: Brent Hyder, Hyder, Salesforce, Brian Millham, Brent, Nathalie Scardino, I've, , It's, Slack, Ashley Stewart Organizations: Salesforce
Microsoft workers feel worse about workplace culture and leader effectiveness, internal polls show. Microsoft employees feel significantly worse about the company's workplace culture and the effectiveness of leaders than they did at the start of the year, internal polls viewed by Insider show. Insider viewed screenshots of graphs of daily responses to each question since January. Angry employees recently roasted Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella after he thanked the company's workforce for a "landmark" fiscal year. "Here employees take pay cuts as our company and leadership make record profits," one employee wrote in response to Nadella.
Persons: Satya Nadella, It's, Ashley Stewart Organizations: Microsoft, Daily Signals
M12, Microsoft's venture firm, is offloading some of its portfolio on secondary exchanges, sources say. The fund's shares in startups are taking haircuts of between 30% and 70%, three people said. Microsoft's corporate venture capital fund, M12, has been offloading some of its $1 billion portfolio on secondary exchanges, five people familiar with the matter told Insider. One of the people familiar with the sales said M12 sold one large position this month at a 50% discount. A secondary sales boomSecondary sales are becoming more common in the market in general.
Persons: there's, PitchBook, Ashley Stewart, Ben Bergman, bbergman, Darius Rafieyan Organizations: Microsoft, Vertical Aerospace, Google, Investors, Tiger Global
Users of OpenAI's new GPT-4 model have been complaining in recent weeks about degraded performance. OpenAI admitted that GPT-4 performance may be worse on some tasks. "There may be some tasks where the performance gets worse," OpenAI stated in a blog post. OpenAI, the company that created ChatGPT, said that GPT-4's performance may be worse on some tasks as users have complained that the model is "lazier" and "dumber" compared to previous iterations. Users of OpenAI's GPT-4 have been complaining in recent weeks about degraded performance compared to its previous reasoning capabilities.
Persons: OpenAI, OpenAI's, Ashley Stewart
Amazon Web Services created an "AWS Compute Services" team, an email viewed by Insider shows. It combined services such as EC2 and serverless products like Lambda into a single organization. Amazon Web Services created a new "AWS Compute Services" team, according to an internal email viewed by Insider, combining services such as its Elastic Compute Cloud and container and serverless products including Lambda into a single organization. Deepak Singh, the vice president who previously ran AWS containers and serverless products, is leading the new AI organization. Barry Cooks, the vice president who runs the Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service, now reports to Brown.
Persons: Deepak Singh, David Brown, EC2, Holly Mesrobian, Brown, Nick Coult, Ajay Nair, Spencer Dillard, Ahmed Usman Khalid, Barry Cooks, Jody Gibney, Ashley Stewart Organizations: Amazon Web Services, Insider, Lambda, AWS, Web Services, Compute Services, Service, Registry
Microsoft cut more than 1,000 employees over the past week, insiders say. Microsoft laid off more than 1,000 employees over the past week, primarily in customer service and sales roles, people familiar with the changes told Insider. The cuts go beyond the 10,000 layoffs Microsoft indicated it was planning earlier this year, according to these people. As part of these moves, Microsoft shut its "Digital Sales and Success" group, a sales and customer service team that at one point had thousands of employees. "The focus is more to accelerate consumption than it is to help customers," one person familiar with the changes told Insider.
Persons: Judson Althoff, GeekWire, Ashley Stewart Organizations: Microsoft, Digital, Daily Signals Locations: Washington
Amazon is internally scrambling to take advantage of the generative AI boom. AWS just created a new org focused on getting customers to use generative AI to build on its cloud. Amazon Web Services has created a new organization focused on helping customers use generative AI tech on its cloud as the company scrambles to respond to the AI boom, an internal email viewed by Insider shows. "Across AWS (and Amazon), teams are experimenting with generative Al tools to improve builder productivity," DeSantis wrote. "Generative AI will also make it easier to enable a broader group of builders to develop applications on AWS," DeSantis wrote.
Persons: Peter DeSantis, DeSantis, Deepak Singh, Swami Sivasubramanian, I've, Jeff Bezos, Doug Seven, Jonathan Weiss, Harry Mower, Adam Seligman, Adam Selipsky, Selipsky, Ashley Stewart, Eugene Kim Organizations: Services, Insider, Amazon, AWS, Integrated Development, Singh, Web Services
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella posted a thank-you note to the troops on Wednesday. In light of all of this, CEO Satya Nadella took to Microsoft's internal message boards on Wednesday to thank the troops, in a message viewed by Insider. But a number of employees reacted to Nadella's thank-you note with salty messages, according to internal posts seen by Insider. Another message, also upvoted by over 100 people, wrote, "Here employees take pay cuts as our company and leadership make record profits. As we previously reported, a recent internal Microsoft poll showed that more Microsoft employees say they would leave if they got another comparable offer.
Persons: Satya Nadella, he's, It's, Ashley Stewart Organizations: Microsoft, Activision
Fewer Microsoft employees indicated they have confidence in leadership in an annual employee poll. A question about whether working at Microsoft is a 'good deal' got the least favorable responses. Fewer Microsoft employees indicated they have confidence in leadership in an annual employee poll, and a question about whether working at Microsoft is a "good deal" received the least favorable responses, according to results viewed by Insider. The percentage of favorable responses was 66% last year, which insiders said prompted Microsoft to announce widespread raises last year. Are you a Microsoft employee or do you have insight to share?
Persons: Satya, Ashley Stewart Organizations: Microsoft
Salesforce just shared results of its annual employee survey internally. The survey received responses from 57,000 employees and gauges general sentiment. Salesforce just shared the results of an employee survey in which 57,000 employees participated, the first such survey released after the company started mass layoffs earlier this year. The results show employees feel generally good about Salesforce when it comes to to the company's ethics, and generally concerned about retaining talented employees, their future at Salesforce, and how leadership decisions adhere to the company's core values. A Salesforce spokesperson confirmed the data to Insider and said, "Thanks to our employees, we've made tremendous progress on our company transformation.
Persons: Salesforce, we've, Bret Taylor, Marc Benioff, Salesforce's, Brent Hyder, Slack, Ashley Stewart Organizations: Team Locations: Salesforce
Employees blasted Microsoft's decision to pause raises and low morale ahead of a cloud meeting. Cloud boss Scott Guthrie told employees at the previous meeting no changes would come to raises. Microsoft cloud boss Scott Guthrie is facing tough questions about the company's decision to pause raises and cut bonuses and stock awards ahead of an employee meeting for the Cloud + AI organization. Many of the questions ahead of Guthrie's latest meeting, initially scheduled for June 8 and then canceled, were directed at Microsoft's senior leadership team, internally abbreviated as LT or SLT. Are you a Microsoft employee or do you have insight to share?
Persons: Scott Guthrie, Guthrie, Satya Nadella, Will LT, Kathleen Hogan, Charlie Bell, Ashley Stewart Organizations: Microsoft, Microsoft's
Salesforce's Brent Hyder offended some employees during the company's LGBTQ+ Pride month kickoff. The company later removed Hyder's comments from a recording of the event and deleted a Slack thread about them. Because Salesforce removed the comments from the recording, Insider has not verified Hyder's exact comments and Salesforce repeatedly declined to provide Insider with a transcript of Hyder's comments. But according to people who heard them, Hyder made a number of controversial statements including that members of the LGBTQ+ community should compromise with opponents. "Allyship is a constant journey," Billy Lewis, a Salesforce employee who was global head of Outforce for four years, said in an interview arranged by Salesforce.
Persons: Salesforce's Brent Hyder, Brent Hyder, Hyder, Salesforce, Brent, Brent Hyder's, Slack, I'm, Billy Lewis, Jessica Romig, Ashley Stewart Organizations: Pride, Employees, Equality, Allies
Total: 25