Amazon workers say AI push threatens democracy and the world

More than 1,000 Amazon employees said on Tuesday that the company’s rapid artificial intelligence (AI) rollout is putting jobs, democratic institutions and the environment at risk. In an open letter to CEO Andy Jassy, workers criticized what they call a “warp speed” approach that prioritizes expansion over safety. The signatories urged leadership to slow deployment and address the consequences they say are already emerging across the company.

AI development risks: The letter, posted by Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, includes signatures from workers across engineering, product and operations roles. It states, “We, the undersigned Amazon employees, have serious concerns about this aggressive rollout during the global rise of authoritarianism and our most important years to reverse the climate crisis.” It also says the company’s “all costs justified, warp speed approach to AI development will do staggering damage to democracy, to our jobs, and to the earth.” Employees describe increased pressure to integrate AI tools despite uncertainty about their value in day-to-day operations.

Climate impact and oversight: Signatories point to Amazon’s own reporting that carbon emissions have risen about 35% since 2019. They argue that expanding AI infrastructure increases energy and water demands in ways that conflict with the company’s climate commitments, particularly its target of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2040. The letter calls for data centers to be powered by local renewable energy where possible, a halt to custom AI solutions for fossil fuel companies and a commitment that Amazon technologies will not be used for mass surveillance or mass deportations. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella earlier addressed the resource demands of large-scale AI systems, saying that AI infrastructure must earn “social permission” to consume significant amounts of energy as data centers expand.

Companies accelerate internal automation: The concerns raised by Amazon employees come as leaders at other major technology firms promote more aggressive use of artificial intelligence inside their own companies. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang recently instructed employees to automate every task possible with AI and questioned reports that some managers had discouraged extensive use of internal tools. At Google, CEO Sundar Pichai remarked that even his job may someday be replaced by AI. “What a CEO does is maybe one of the easier things maybe for an AI to do one day,” he stated as Alphabet continues a multibillion-dollar expansion of AI infrastructure following recent workforce reductions tied to that investment shift.