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☆ Big Tech goes nuclear: Amazon's pitch to use power plants shows the crucial role the energy source plays for AI
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-25 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In today's big story, inside Amazon's internal pitch for turning to nuclear power to meet its growing energy needs . AdvertisementThat's led Big Tech to consider nuclear power to address its skyrocketing energy requirements. Nuclear power ticks that box better than other clean energy options like solar or wind. Nuclear power, meanwhile, is an industry in desperate need of some love , BI's Daniel Geiger and Ellen Thomas previously reported. From advertising platforms to AI tech companies, here's the startups to watch .

Persons: —, Jocko Willink, we've, Jenny Chang, Rodriguez, That's, Business Insider's Eugene Kim, Andy Jassy, it's, Sam Altman, Eugene, BI's Hasan Chowdhury, BI's Daniel Geiger, Ellen Thomas, Jim Burke, Vistra, Chelsea Jia Feng, Elon Musk, Jean Boivin, He's, Marc Benioff isn't, bashed, Miles Brundage, OpenAI, Emma Tucker's, Tucker, Mike Jeffries, SpaceX's, Dan DeFrancesco, Jordan Parker Erb, Hallam Bullock, Milan Sehmbi Organizations: Business, Service, Navy, Big Tech, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Keystone, Hulton, Constellation Energy, Getty, EV, BlackRock Investment Institute, San Francisco, BI, AGI, Abercrombie, Fitch Locations: Fukushima, Pennsylvania, Arizona, New York, London

☆ The race in Big Tech to sell customers on AI products is heating up
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-16 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Meanwhile, in today's newsletter, we're looking at how AWS is ramping up its sales team to pitch customers on AI . The big storySell, sell, sellAmazon; Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/BIWhen it comes to the AI revolution, building is only half the battle. AdvertisementAfter drawing scrutiny from investors about their massive investments in generative AI, tech companies are prioritizing getting returns on their big bets. Amazon; OpenAI; Microsoft; Getty Images; Chelsea Jia Feng/BIAWS' pressure to ramp up AI sales isn't just focused on ROI. And while these companies can't afford not to pitch their customers on AI tech, they also risk turning them off to the idea by selling them products that might not live up to expectations.

Persons: —, Donald Trump, Trump, Alyssa Powell, Insider's Eugene Kim, Eugene, Chelsea Jia Feng, it's, Anna Kim, Getty, Tyler Le, Martha Stewart, Al Capone, Morgan Stanley, Dre, Jeff Chiu, Larry Page's, Wayne Osborne, Elon, Grimes, Ryan Mac, Kate Conger unearths, Musk, Department's, We've, Kamala Harris, Biden, Booker, Dan DeFrancesco, Hallam Bullock, Milan Sehmbi, Amanda Yen Organizations: Service, FBI, Business, Amazon Web Services, that's, AWS, Microsoft, Getty, Google, Sunshine, Twitter, Huber & Starke, Hollywood, Teamsters Locations: West Palm Beach , Florida, today's, Florida, hustles, New York, London

☆ From Amazon to Dell, Corporate America's in-office crackdown is in full swing
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-17 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

In today's big story, Amazon wants to stop employees skirting in-office mandates by tracking their hours spent in the office . The big storyPunching the clockGetty Images; Jenny Chang-Rodriguez/BIAt Amazon, coffee is for closers people who spend at least 2 hours in the office. AdvertisementBusiness Insider's Eugene Kim has a report on Amazon monitoring the hours its corporate employees spend in the office . Amazon and its employees have been in an ongoing battle over its return-to-office mandate, which was first announced early last year. AdvertisementFor Amazon employees, the RTO mandates have been shrouded in mystery and confusion.

Persons: —, you've, Jenny Chang, Rodriguez, Eugene Kim, it's, Eugene, they've, Justin Sullivan, Getty, Dell, Polly Thompson, Lizzie Reed, Goldman Sachs, Mark McQueen, Elizabeth Reed, Donald Trump's, Fundstrat's Tom Lee, Russell, Deena So'Oteh, Greg Warnock, Warnock, Elon Musk, Tesla, Stephen Pasterino, Rachel Katzman's, Jennifer Aniston, Johnson, Dan DeFrancesco, Jordan Parker Erb, Hallam Bullock, Annie Smith, Amanda Yen Organizations: Service, Denver Airport, Business, Amazon, Foods, Dell, Computer, Workers, Goldman, Walmart, Treasury, Netflix, SpaceX, Lone Star State, Northeast, BI, Olympic, United Airlines, Johnson Locations: it's, Corporate America, Utah, California, Texas, Paris, Seine, New York, London

☆ ChatGPT just made AI more human, and it should make its rivals nervous
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Ana Altchek | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The AI company basically planted a flag in the sand emblazoned with two words aimed at its Big Tech rivals: your move. The newest version of the AI chatbot, powered by OpenAI's new flagship AI model GPT-4o, can reason across audio, vision, and text in real time. AdvertisementAll the while, the voice assistant maintained a lighthearted and cheerful tone. In another instance, ChatGPT said the researcher was making it blush when he said he was talking about how "useful and amazing" ChatGPT was. Meanwhile, Amazon had plans to release an "Alexa Plus" paid version of the voice assistant that's powered by generative AI, Business Insider's Eugene Kim first reported.

Persons: —, Sam Altman, Mira Murati, Scarlett Johansson, Spike, Mark, ChatGPT, OpenAI, Alexa, Apple's Siri, Siri, There's, Insider's Eugene Kim Organizations: Service, Big Tech, Business, Warner Bros, Google, Apple, Amazon Locations: ChatGPT

☆ Amazon, CVS, and Walgreens went all in on primary care. Their bets are bleeding money.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

In the past several years, Amazon, CVS Health, and Walgreens each spent billions to own primary-care companies. CVS bought Oak Street Health. Here's how the bets that Amazon, CVS, and Walgreens made are playing out. CVS is building more Oak Street clinics despite lossesAn Oak Street Health location in Elgin, Illinois during its grand opening. CVS is hoping to help Oak Street clinics get profitable quicker by driving more patients their way.

Persons: Andy Jassy, Thos Robinson, It's, JP Morgan, Berkshire Hathaway, Business Insider's Eugene Kim, Kim, they've, it's, VillageMD hasn't, Jefferies, Brian Tanquilut, Tanquilut, Lydia Ramsey, Mike Pykosz, Pykosz, Aetna, Michael Cherny Organizations: CVS Health, Walgreens, Amazon, CVS, Oak Street Health, Business, Aetna, Medical, Washington Post, Summit Health, Oak, Health Locations: Oak, VillageMD, Haven, Florida, Elgin , Illinois

☆ The generative AI future will not be free
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Alistair Barr | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Our paid AI futureToday, we're at the start of a similarly exciting new technology wave with generative AI. Even Google, the master of free online services, is considering paid subscriptions for some of its new AI offerings. So, why will generative AI offerings be paid from the start? One possible answer is that ads may not work as well in this new generative AI future. Charging for new generative AI services is one way to create new earnings.

Persons: —, Chris Anderson, Stephen Colbert, Colbert, Alexa, Insider's Eugene Kim, Sundar Pichai, Bard chatbot, Oren Etzioni, Dave Limp, Etzioni, Goldman Sachs, Goldman Organizations: Service, Business, Facebook, YouTube, Google, Engadget, Alexa, Big Tech, Apple, Microsoft, Meta Locations: Silicon, we're

☆ Employee burnout at AWS is reminiscent of another top firm's push to get bigger
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

AdvertisementIn today's big story, we're looking at the growing tension at AWS with rising employee burnout. Just like OpenAI's ChatGPT or Google's Bard, Amazon Q is a generative AI chatbot users can talk to like a human. Amazon Web Services, which developed Amazon Q, announced the new product under the fanfare of its annual event in Las Vegas, AWS re:Invent. Business Insider's Eugene Kim, our resident Amazon expert, has a report on the growing tension and burnout among AWS employees. Jon Krause for InsiderThe burnout at AWS reminds me of another company at the top of its field facing turmoil: Goldman Sachs.

Persons: —, you've, Taylor, Pena Popo, Noah Berger, Bard, Insider's Eugene Kim, ChatGPT, Jon Krause, Goldman Sachs, Goldman, David Solomon, haven't, BI's Dakin Campbell, Bethany McLean, Goldman aren't, Goldman's, Sylvain Gaboury, Patrick McMullan, Slaven, The New York Times Elon Musk, Tesla, They've, Joe Santagato, Elon Musk, Drazen, Dan DeFrancesco, Naga Siu, Hallam Bullock, Lisa Ryan Organizations: Spotify, Getty, Web Services, Microsoft, Goldman, Slaven, The New York Times, Amazon, Business, American Express, Federal, Paris, Paralympic, Kroger, Dell Locations: Las Vegas, Austin , Texas, New York City, San Diego, London, New York

☆ How companies spy on their employees as they push return-to-office — from monitoring badge swipes to tracking breaks
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-01 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Here's how firms use "bossware" to keep tabs on employees, from tracking keystrokes to breaks. AdvertisementAdvertisementJPMorgan's dashboard "provides the percentage of days employees were in the office out of the possible eligible days," a description on the company intranet says. AdvertisementAdvertisement"We help companies get peace of mind with productivity analytics," he previously told Insider. Sensors tracking employees' whereabouts in the officeSome employers may even keep tabs on where employees spend the most time in the office. CEO Alex Birch previously told Insider the devices don't identify individuals but render them as dots on a screen.

Persons: —, Insider's Eugene Kim, Rob Munoz, Goldman Sachs, it's, Carlo Borja, Insider's Reed Alexander, Alex Birch, Big, It's, Sean Grundy Organizations: Service, JPMorgan, Bevi

☆ Flexport CEO says he's rescinding job offer letters for candidates joining as soon as Monday: 'I have no ideas why more than 75 people were signed to join'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen announced on X that the company was rescinding dozens of job offers. The rescinded job offers come after Petersen reclaimed his role as CEO on Wednesday. On Wednesday, former Flexport CEO Dave Clark announced he was leaving the company less than a year after departing from his role as CEO of Amazon's consumer business to join Flexport. AdvertisementAdvertisement"It's clear that important changes are needed to sustain our growth and return to profitability," Petersen wrote. Petersen, Clark, and a spokesperson for Flexport did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Persons: Ryan Petersen, Petersen, Steve Jobs, Dave Clark, Clark, FreightWaves, Insider's Eugene Kim, Madeline Stone, he'd, Flexport Organizations: Service, Flexport, Flexport's, Wall Street Locations: Wall, Silicon

☆ Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says 'every single one' of its teams is working on generative AI projects as the company rushes to keep pace with the AI boom
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says the company is working on multiple generative AI projects. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says the company is working really hard on generative AI. Jassy said during the company's Q2 earnings call on Thursday that "every single one" of Amazon's businesses had "multiple generative AI initiatives" going on. Amazon has been trying to keep pace with fellow tech peers when it comes to generative AI. Managers have been asking staff for input on ways to incorporate AI-powered products like ChatGPT into everyday workflows or consumer-facing products, Insider reported.

Persons: Andy Jassy, Jassy, ChatGPT, Eugene Kim Organizations: Alexa, Amazon, Google, Microsoft

☆ Amazon leaders are worried that a 'Day 2' mindset is seeping in at the company
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Matt Turner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Selipsky does work at a "big company" of course, but he doesn't want Amazon to feel that way. At Amazon, it's always supposed to be "Day 1," the dawn of a new era where the customer comes first and bold bets are backed. Selipsky said in the staff meeting that Amazon has to keep the mentality that "we are going to be the insurgents." Economic update: I wrote a week ago that the dream scenario for the economy was looking more likely by the day. More than 30 people involved in the tech industry told us the real problem was lazy managers.

Persons: Adam Selipsky, it's, Insider's Eugene Kim, Selipsky, that's, Andy Jassy, let's, Arantza Pena, —, David Clapp, Insider's Adam Rogers, Rogers, Phil Rosen, George Mickum Mike Vitelli, George Mickum, he'd, Birkin, Mitchie Nguyen, Matt Turner, Hallam Bullock, Lisa Ryan Organizations: AWS, Federal Trade Commission, San, Getty, Google, LinkedIn Locations: San Francisco San Francisco ,, San Francisco, Manhattan

☆ A new book reveals how Amazon used 'shady' strategies at its bookstores to drive up Prime subscriptions
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Jason Del Rey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The following excerpt reveals how Amazon attempted to utilize its physical bookstores to bolster Amazon Prime and its other digital subscription services — in sometimes unethical ways. Among them were bookstores, under the name Amazon Books, which first opened to the public in 2015. Prior to the pandemic, store customers could view one of the free trial offers on a screen in front of them. Amazon spokesperson Jordan Deagle told me that there was no corporate mandate to increase sign-ups for free trials of Amazon subscriptions. The e-commerce giant just couldn't break away from its digital DNA, even in a physical store setting.

Persons: Jason Del Rey, Amazon's, Chris Garlock, Garlock, Jordan Deagle, Deagle, Tony Hoggett, Insider's Eugene Kim Organizations: Walmart, Morning, Amazon, Amazon Prime, East Coast, Amazon Books, Tesco, Harper Business, HarperCollins Publishers, Federal Trade Commission, FTC

☆ Samsung bans employees from using AI tools like ChatGPT and Google Bard after an accidental data leak, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Samsung has banned employees from using ChatGPT in the workplace, per Bloomberg. Samsung has introduced a new policy banning employees from using generative AI tools like Open AI's ChatGPT and Google Bard in the workplace, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. Staff are now banned from using generative AI tools on company-owned devices including computers, tablets, phones, and internal networks, per Bloomberg. Tech giant Amazon similarly warned staff against using ChatGPT because of instances of the chatbot's responses resembling internal Amazon data, Insider's Eugene Kim reported in January. OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, introduced new measures in April to address concerns about managing data on the chatbot.

☆ Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says inventing and 'riffing' on ideas is easier if staff are back in the office
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said inventing is "easier" when staff are working in the office. "The energy and riffing on one another's ideas happen more freely" than from home, he said. Staff must work three days a week in the office from May, but some buildings won't be ready then. An internal memo obtained by Insider's Eugene Kim this week indicated that some of Amazon's office space won't be ready until September. Amazon didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider, made outside normal working hours.

☆ Amazon, Meta, and other tech giants are cutting middle management to be more efficient. It's a risky move that could backfire.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-08 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Big Tech's latest cost cutting move is "flattening," or removing middle management from the org chart. This is likely to work in the short term, but removing middle management has long-term consequences. The move comes as the Big Tech companies reel from the consequences of overhiring, as the pandemic turned into an unexpected boon to their businesses. While that all sounds good, experts warn removing middle management roles have other consequences that Big Tech will have to deal with. Middle managers set the tone and cultureAdditionally, middle managers have more influence on shaping a company's culture and can affect whether or not employees feel engaged in their jobs, as Insider's Aki Ito reported.

☆ Leaked Amazon memo shows plans to reduce employee stock awards in 2025
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Asia Martin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Leaked Amazon memo shows plans to reduce employee stock awards in 2025. The company is considering increasing the cash portion of compensation to help cushion employees against its stock price going down in the future. In other news:The late Cash App founder Bob Lee. Cash App creator Bob Lee died after a reported stabbing in San Francisco Tuesday. Silicon Valley is grieving the loss of the founder of Cash App and the former chief technology officer at Square.

☆ Ex-Apple engineer says Siri is way too clunky to ever be like ChatGPT
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ex-Apple engineer John Burkey told NYT that voice assistant Siri may never be as robust as ChatGPT. Generative AI tools like ChatGPT threaten to make voice assistant tech obsolete. John Burkey, an ex-Apple engineer who was tasked to improve Siri in 2014 and left the company in 2016, said that Siri's clunky design makes it difficult to add new features. Burkey's views on Siri come as the wildly popular AI chatbot ChatGPT — which now runs on GPT-4, its most advanced language model yet — threatens to make voice assistant tech obsolete with its impressive capabilities. Siri users have even taken notice, expressing their frustrations on Reddit with questions like "Why is Siri so stupid" and "is Siri getting dumber each year."

☆ Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Cortana were 'dumb as a rock'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella said voice assistants like Siri and Alexa were "dumb as a rock." Nadella who raved about the voice assistants in 2016 saying "bots are the new apps," has changed his tune since then, the FT reported. "Whether it's Cortana or Alexa or Google Assistant or Siri, all these just don't work. According to Insider Intelligence analysis in 2018, just 2% of global consumers said they used Cortana as their primary voice assistant. Siri's co-creator Adam Cheyer told the FT that ChatGPT's ability to understand complex information makes existing voice assistants look stupid, saying "the previous capabilities have just been too awkward."

☆ Ex-Amazon managers say they were pressured to cut successful workers to meet attrition goals — and faced retribution when they resisted
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Shana Lebowitz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

Former Amazon managers say they were pressured to cut successful workers to meet attrition goals. In anticipation of Amazon's performance-review period, he told Insider, he'd kept careful notes on what his employees were doing well and where they could improve. These people said leadership would place employees in Focus even if the managers of those employees said that the workers had met or exceeded expectations. A few weeks later, he said, his manager told him he was on Pivot and had the option to leave the company with severance, which he did. Amazon managers are required to submit their performance ratings for employees in an online tool, then discuss their rationale with managers above them, he said.

☆ Amazon's corporate employees will be paid up to 50% less in 2023 because of its falling stock price, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon corporate employees will be paid up to 50% less in 2023 due to its falling share price, the WSJ reported. Salaries this year are likely 15% to 50% lower than the estimations given to Amazon staff, people familiar with the matter told the Journal. Stock units are issued to staff on the basis that the company's share price will increase around 15% every year, sources told the Journal. The sources added that expectations were that the company's share price would be around $170 this year, rather than the $97 where it currently trades. Amazon's decreasing stock price reflects a wider economic slowdown, as well as slowing growth in its retail business.

☆ Amazon will require corporate employees to work in the office at least three days per week starting in May
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon employees will need to be back in offices at least three days per week starting in May. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced the change to corporate employees on Friday. "We don't have a plan to require people to come back," he said at the event, per CNBC. Several of the other largest companies in the US like Google and Disney have announced policies in recent months to require employees spend at least some time in offices, with varying degrees of success. Over 2,000 Disney employees have reportedly signed a petition urging CEO Bob Iger to reconsider the policy that would require employees to spend at least four days per week in offices.

☆ Amazon CEO says ChatGPT is 'exciting,' but that Amazon has been working on similar tech for a long time
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-13 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Amazon's CEO Andy Jassy said generative AI like ChatGPT presents "exciting" possibilities. He told the Financial Times that Amazon has been working on generative AI for a long time. Amazon company supporters are worried the company is falling behind in this area, per the FT.Sign up for our newsletter for the latest tech news and scoops — delivered daily to your inbox. "I think it's exciting, what's possible with generative AI," Jassy told the FT. "And it's part of what you're seeing with models like ChatGPT. But most large, deeply technical companies like ours, have been working on these very large, generative AI models themselves for a long time."

☆ Companies are using layoffs to cut new-hire salaries and win back the power they held before the pandemic, some recruiters say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Speculation on the 'real reason' tech companies are shedding workersSome on TikTok and Reddit have posited that the "real reason" tech companies are cutting jobs is to tamp down fat salaries bloated by the Great Resignation. Tech companies scrambled to meet demand and went on a hiring binge during the pandemic. At a time when wages were climbing at the fastest pace in decades across the board, tech companies were especially generous to new hires — and even existing employees. A year and a half ago, compensation was a "completely different ball game," a former recruiter at Google told Insider. Will tech companies then try to hire back their workers at lower salaries?

☆ Amazon has been trying to break into healthcare for years. Here's a look at everything it's done.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Lydia Ramsey Pflanzer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

It's focused on providing primary care and dispensing prescriptions through Amazon Pharmacy. It hasn't been smooth sailing, and the tech giant has shut down some projects. It hasn't been smooth sailing for every healthcare project. In August, it shut down Amazon Care, a big homegrown primary-care bet. Analysts think in 2023 Amazon will continue to build on its healthcare business through more acquisitions.

☆ Amazon is shutting down its charity program amid massive companywide layoffs, claiming its 'ability to have an impact was often spread too thin'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon announced that it would "wind down" its AmazonSmile program in February. "After almost a decade, the program has not grown to create the impact that we had originally hoped," the email read. "With so many eligible organizations — more than 1 million globally — our ability to have an impact was often spread too thin." Amazon plans to fully close the program by February 20 and focus its philanthropic efforts elsewhere, per the email. Through the program, Amazon shoppers could visit smile.amazon.com allocate 0.5% of their purchase to a participating organization of their choice for no extra charge.

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