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☆ Inside Project Nile: Amazon's secret AI-powered plan to change the way you shop online.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

"Project Nile is a confidential initiative wherein we're building a conversational shopping agent for Retail customers," one internal document explained. Wearing that "I love AI" t-shirt, Sirosh, VP of Amazon Search and Alexa Shopping, introduced Project Nile as a "super confidential" project. Project Nile isn't the only move Amazon has made in the popular generative AI space. For Amazon's retail side, Project Nile is one of the most important projects. Sirosh has told his team he's "staffing up very rapidly" as Project Nile is the "absolute top priority."

Persons: Joseph Sirosh, Sirosh, Stephen Lam, It's, they're, Andy Jassy, Doug Herrington, Jassy, Rohit Prasad, ChatGPT, Microsoft's Bing, Google's Bard Organizations: Amazon, Microsoft, Retail, Amazon Search, Alexa, Nile, ChatGPT, Google Locations: Anthropic, OpenAI

☆ 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

☆ Leaked screenshot shows Amazon is now tracking individual employee office attendance records, reversing its anonymized data policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon is now tracking and sharing individual office attendance records, a reversal of an old policy, as the company doubles down on forcing employees back into the office. Amazon employees in the US are now able to see a "Badge Report" on their own internal HR dashboard, according to a screenshot obtained by Insider. The report shows "days badged per week" data and the exact "days of week" each employee badged-in for each of the past 8 weeks. The report excludes data for non-corporate Amazon buildings, like warehouses, data centers, and 3rd party offices such as WeWork. The memo added badge data is not available to employees in Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Korea, or Taiwan.

Persons: Peter DeSantis, Rob Munoz, Munoz, Andy Jassy, it's Locations: Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Korea, Taiwan

☆ Amazon SVP pledges to clarify RTO policy, says warning email about office attendance was meant to be a 'nudge'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

He also told employees to share anecdotes of being pressured to immediately relocate with his HR team, so he could "dig into" those situations. "I think we created some noise, which I think is important because we really do want people back in the office," DeSantis said, according to the transcript. 'Take another whack at clarifying this message'At the town hall meeting, DeSantis said the employees who were asked to relocate were those "in purely virtual locations." 'Kind of a nudge'In August, many Amazon employees received an email accusing them of not adhering to the company's RTO policy. The warning email, he said, was "well-intentioned" and only meant to be a "nudge" for people who weren't complying.

Persons: hasn't, Peter DeSantis, DeSantis, Rob Munoz, Munoz, Andy Jassy Michael M, Andy Jassy's, what's Organizations: Amazon, Utility Computing

☆ Amazon employees slam its Clubhouse-competing app in internal meeting following abrupt leadership change: 'This place is becoming a circus'
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-21 | by ( Eugene Kim | Katherine Long | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A sudden leadership change at Amazon's Amp live radio division this week has drawn a rancorous response and trenchant questions from employees, reflecting the mounting hostility within the failing business. Shortly after the announcement, employees submitted a long list of questions for leadership at an internal town hall meeting scheduled for Wednesday. 'Failing to lead Amp to success'Many questions submitted by employees asked about the general direction of the Amp business. Another person noted the Amp team has missed some of its key performance goals, such as monthly active users. Employees expressed a strong distrust of the leadership team, too.

Persons: Matt Sandler, John Ciancutti, Alok Verma, didn't, Nicki Minaj, Sandler, John, Eugene Kim, Katherine Long Organizations: Amazon, Amazon Music's, Amazon Care, Employees

☆ Amazon considers new subscription plans for its healthcare and grocery services, and a potential One Medical integration with Prime
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon is considering new subscription programs across grocery and healthcare, a potential shot in the arm for its Prime membership program. One of the ideas is to offer One Medical's service at a discounted price to existing Prime members, one of the people said. Amazon is struggling to attract younger customers and low income households to use its Prime membership program, one of the people said. Aside from Prime, Amazon offers separate subscriptions for video and music streaming, as well as its Audible audiobook service. Previously, Prime members received free grocery deliveries on orders over $35.

Organizations: Amazon Prime, Amazon, Foods, Rings, Power

☆ 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

☆ Flexport told employees to expect cost-cutting and possibly job cuts, a day after its CEO's sudden departure
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Eugene Kim | Madeline Stone | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Flexport told employees Thursday to expect cost-cutting and a possible reduction in workforce. Flexport founder Ryan Petersen said the company needs changes to "return to profitability." Flexport is considering cutting part of its corporate workforce, following Wednesday's sudden departure of CEO Dave Clark. The overarching message was that Flexport was spending too much money, and the company needs to focus more on helping customers, the people said. In it, he emphasized the need to return to profitability and focus on customers' needs.

Persons: Flexport, Dave Clark, Ryan Petersen, Clark, Ryan Petersen's, Petersen, Clark's, Eugene Kim Organizations: Amazon Locations: Amazon

☆ Amazon used 6 friendly 'tenets' to woo its rival Shopify into a partnership such as 'better together,' leaked document shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Amazon and Shopify launched a new Buy with Prime app for Shopify last week. This was true for its partnership with Shopify, a company that Amazon views as a major ecommerce rival. The Amazon "Prime bar" shoppers expect from Amazon.com is maintained on Shopify. We believe we can build a "better together" shopper and merchant experience with Shopify. We lean in to the key differentiators each company has to offer (e.g., Prime, MCF, Amazon App, Shop App) to "grow the pie."

Persons: Shopify, Jeff Bezos Organizations: Shopify, Amazon, Prime, Amazon.com Locations: Santos

☆ Inside the clash between Amazon and Shopify over Buy with Prime
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Amazon and Shopify announced a new Buy with Prime app for Shopify on Wednesday. Buy with Prime let merchants offer Prime benefits, such as fast shipping and free delivery, on websites beyond Amazon.com. Amazon had no choice but to let Shopify merchants view Buy with Prime-related metrics on its own backend console, not within the unified Shopify Admin tool, according to the internal Amazon document from April. If Buy with Prime data wasn't smoothly integrated into Shopify Admin, Shopify merchants might not use the Amazon feature much. Constant delaysThe internal Amazon document described a Shopify-native Buy with Prime app as a "flagship" goal for Amazon's top leadership because it would make Buy with Prime more appealing to Shopify merchants.

Persons: Shopify, Santos Jeff Bezos Kevin Mazur, Jeff Bezos, Tobi Lütke David Fitzgerald, Sportsfile, Harley Finkelstein, Finkelstein, Mark William Lewis, Andy Jassy, they've Organizations: Amazon, Amazon.com, Prime, Project Santos, Getty, Amazon Logistics, Netalico Commerce, Web, Associated

☆ Amazon VP who was previously Uber's CTO has taken a sudden leave of absence less than 2 years into the job
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The VP in charge of Amazon's ecommerce technology services has taken a sudden leave of absence. Sukumar Rathnam, an Amazon VP who was formerly Uber's chief technology officer, is taking a sudden leave of absence, Insider has learned. Rathnam was most recently VP of eCommerce services at Amazon, overseeing the retail giant's backend technology. It was his second stint at Amazon, after having spent almost 10 years in a retail VP role previously. Many Amazon employees voiced their opposition to RTO over the past 6 months, both publicly and privately, sparking an internal petition and a public walkout.

Persons: Sukumar Rathnam, Rathnam, Dave Treadwell, Ramesh Manne, Treadwell, Sukumar, Sundeep Jain, Rathnam's, Dave Clark, Jay Carney, Andy Jassy, Jeff Bezos, Brad Glasser, Glasser, Jassy Organizations: Amazon, Amazon's Locations: Amazon's

☆ Amazon confirms plans to discontinue its Honeycode app-building service
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Eugene Kim | Ashley Stewart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

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

☆ Amazon CEO Andy Jassy tells employees it's 'past' time to commit to the company's RTO mandate and their jobs are at stake
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told employees who disagree with the return-to-office mandate that it's "not going to work out for you." Jassy declined to provide any data that supports his decision to bring employees back to the office. The months-long controversy waging at Amazon over its aggressive return-to-office mandate apparently has CEO Andy Jassy losing patience with defending it. And if employees didn't like it, they could leave the company, Jassy said, according to a recording of the meeting obtained by Insider. During the Fishbowl conversation, Jassy also argued Amazon didn't use any compelling data when it first allowed remote work during the pandemic.

Persons: Andy Jassy, Jassy, it's, didn't

☆ In leaked recording, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy wouldn't share data for his controversial RTO mandate. Said it was a 'judgement' call, like launching AWS.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-25 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

"Those were judgment decisions by our leadership team," Jassy continued. As a leadership team, we've decided that we will be better for customers and for our business being in the office." Jassy's comments are the latest in the months-long tension between Amazon's employees and leadership team over the company's aggressive RTO policy. Amazon's top leadership looked at "a number of pieces of data" over the past two years regarding remote work, Jassy said. Another person blamed Amazon's leadership team for over-expanding during the pandemic under the belief that the hyper growth would last for a long time.

Persons: Andy Jassy, Jassy, we've, didn't, doesn't, It's, Amazon's, it's Organizations: Amazon, Services, AWS

☆ Recent updates for Amazon return to office policies
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Previous pronouncements about the revolutionary benefits of remote work have been replaced by vague, data-light arguments on productivity gains from being in the office. Apple, Meta, Bloomberg and Google all have gleaming HQs that would look very silly if those companies continued to embrace remote work. Insider has asked Amazon for comment on its RTO policy several times in recent months and the company has responded. AdvertisementAdvertisementAn internal guideline, obtained by Insider, listed Amazon office locations and the dates they are expected to be fully "ready" to support the RTO mandate. That's what some Amazon employees have done by mocking the company's RTO policy and its famous leadership principles.

Persons: Brad Glasser, there's, we've, Amazon's, LINDSEY WASSON, Andy Jassy, Slack, Beth Galetti, Al Drago, Paul Vixie, Andy Jassy's, Mike Hopkins, Hopkins, Elaine Thompson, snafu, they'd Organizations: Amazon, Tech, Meta, Bloomberg, Google, Seattle, Reuters, Amazon SVP, Human, Services, Company, Amazon Video Locations: Seattle, Seattle , Washington , U.S, Beth Galetti REUTERS, Seattle , New York, Houston, Austin , Texas

☆ Ahead of a full Firefly launch, internal documents show Adobe wrestling with how to spot AI images, how to pay creators for training data, and a possible opt-out
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

It is also considering adding an opt-out choice for content contributors to its Firefly AI model. One of the things Adobe is wrestling with is what happens if creators upload AI-generated images to the dataset that's used to train Firefly. Secondly, if Adobe Stock gets flooded with unmarked AI images, future iterations of the Firefly model might be tainted. Adobe previously said it was developing a compensation model for Adobe Stock contributors and would share more details at a later date. Clues on how many Adobe Stock contributors will get AI paymentsThe memo said Adobe was planning to update its Firefly FAQ for Stock contributors in September.

Persons: what's, it's, Github, Adobe Organizations: Adobe Stock, Adobe

☆ Amazon is expanding its own shipping service that directly competes with FedEx and UPS, email invite shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Amazon is inviting sellers to use its own in-house shipping service, called Amazon Shipping. Amazon is significantly expanding its own shipping service that competes with FedEx and UPS. Earlier this week, Amazon invited some sellers to use Amazon Shipping, its own in-house delivery service, according to an email invite seen by Insider. If the merchant used Amazon's fulfillment service, Amazon would decide which delivery service their packages would go through, whether it's UPS or Amazon's own shipping service. However, with Amazon Shipping, sellers now have the choice to use Amazon Shipping directly, even if they are shipping from their own warehouse.

Persons: It's, Pitney Bowes, That's, Olivia Connors Organizations: Amazon, Amazon Shipping, FedEx, UPS, US Postal Service, Pitney, Amazon's, eBay, Bloomberg Locations: United States, France, Italy, Spain, India, Los Angeles, London

☆ Amazon employees are internally sharing mock leadership principles that make fun of the company's aggressive RTO policy: 'Disagree and comply'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Amazon employees are mocking the company's return-to-office policy in a very Amazon way. But the company's aggressive return-to-office policy , which has become a contentious issue internally , has caused some employees to enjoy mocking the famous principles. Earlier this week, an Amazon employee shared a satirical version, titled "Leadership Principles for RTO," on an internal staff forum. Leaders demote other leaders to individual contributor if they aren't willing to relocate to a hub office. There are extra points for growing headcount as long as it's in a hub office.

Persons: Andy Jassy, it's, didn't, blinders, It's, Butts Organizations: Amazon, Burn

☆ Amazon wants to make RTO exceptions extremely rare, and workers are considering drastic hacks to comply
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Ashley Stewart | Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The company wants RTO policy exceptions to be extremely rare. Amazon is leaning in hard on its plan to get employees back to the office by making exceptions to the policy extremely rare. Amazon managers told Insider they've been directed to only give exceptions in extremely rare cases. One idea: Use a family member's address near an Amazon office and fly in when necessary. For those who choose to relocate, Amazon is giving up to a few months to find a new place.

Persons: they've, Amazon's, Eugene Kim Organizations: Employees, Workers, Amazon Locations: Amazon's Seattle, Texas, Seattle, San Francisco

☆ Leaked document reveals 'Maverick,' a new Amazon AI security initiative led by Uber's former CISO
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The goal is to build automation tools for AI security and foster partnerships across the company. "In Q2 2023, Amazon Security created the Maverick program to ensure LLM based experiences uphold our high security standards to protect customer data and trust. The Amazon Web Services cloud unit also created an independent team focused on helping customers use generative AI, Insider previously reported . The new Maverick initiative wants to "understand GenAI risks" to Amazon and create "centralized GenAI security testing tools," according to the internal document. The second involves partnering with security teams to "create GenAI security guidance and add specific tasks to existing security mechanisms," the document added.

Persons: John, Flynn, Uber's CISO, Adam Montgomery, Maverick, Andy Jassy, LLMs, Jassy Organizations: Amazon, Amazon Security, Excellence, Amazon's, Microsoft, Google, Services, AWS

☆ Amazon employees are outraged by a new warning about individual office attendance: 'Is this supposed to scare people?'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Some Amazon staff got an email warning them about their office attendance records. The email and internal ticket also suggest that Amazon may be tracking individual office attendance records, even though it previously said it only saved "anonymized" data . Another said this is "peak absurdity" since most employees who received the warning email have been complying with the rules. One of the points added to the internal ticket said future communications should not include "gaslighting-like language" because "it does not come across well." As a reminder, you can find FAQs about working from the office on Inside Amazon News and My HR.

Persons: they've, I've Organizations: Amazon

☆ 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

☆ Leaked email shows Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin is tightening its return-to-office policy: 'Blue is a work-from-work company'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Blue Origin tells many employees to be in the office 5 days a week, internal email shows. Last year, Blue Origin told managers it would be flexible about employee work schedules. "As you know, Blue is a work-from-work company," Blue Origin added in the email. A Blue Origin spokesperson didn't respond to a request for comment. According to the recent email reminder, Blue Origin leaders said working in-person is important from "a culture, comradery, and results perspective."

Persons: Jeff Bezos, didn't, Mike Eilola, Eilola Organizations: Origin, Amazon, Company, Google, Blue Origin's Locations: Denver , El Segundo, Woodland Hills, Phoenix, Reston , Virginia, Seattle, Florida , Texas, Huntsville , Alabama

☆ A top Amazon executive recently said he had 'no data' to support the company's return-to-office mandate, prompting criticism from frustrated employees
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Some Amazon employees are upset about the company's new RTO mandate. Amazon is famous for using data to make decisions — except when it's forcing employees back to the office. Hopkins's comments have added to rising frustration among some Amazon employees over the company's return-to-office mandate. Following Hopkins's meeting, Amazon employees took to internal Slack channels to vent their concerns. Another suspected Amazon was intentionally hiding data, and said the RTO mandate was in conflict with the company's "Earth's best employer" commitment.

Persons: Mike Hopkins, Hopkins, Andy Jassy, we're, Amazon, Rob Munoz, we've, Eugene Kim Organizations: Amazon Video, Amazon, Amazon's Locations: Seattle

☆ Leaked email shows Amazon formed a new group to work on the 'most ambitious' AI models
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Eugene Kim | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy promoted Rohit Prasad, SVP and head scientist for Alexa, to his direct report. Prasad is now running a newly created AI team at Amazon. Jassy told Amazon's S-team, a group of over two dozen top executives, that he promoted Rohit Prasad, SVP and head scientist for Alexa, as his direct report. In this role, Prasad will lead a newly created group working on the company's "most ambitious" large language models, according to an internal email obtained by Insider. As part of its AI effort, Amazon recently created a new team under AWS focused on helping customers use generative AI, as Insider previously reported.

Persons: Andy Jassy, Rohit Prasad, Prasad, Jassy, Amazon's, Rohit, we've, didn't, Meta's, Dave Limp's, Limp, Daniel Rausch, Eugene Kim Organizations: Amazon, Google, Microsoft, AWS, Alexa

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