Amazon’s CEO, Andy Jassy, expressed excitement about the potential of generative AI technology to revolutionize customer experiences and reduce costs.
During the company’s second-quarter earnings call, Jassy revealed that all teams within Amazon are actively working on multiple generative AI initiatives, including projects in their entertainment business, AWS, advertising, and devices divisions.
Generative AI involves using artificial intelligence to create new content, such as text, images, videos, or synthetic data, based on vast datasets. Andy Jassy emphasized that generative AI is a significant investment and a core focus for Amazon. However, he didn’t provide detailed specifics about the ongoing projects.
While many are familiar with generative AI at the application layer, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot, Jassy highlighted its potential applications in backend areas, such as the compute layer. For instance, he mentioned Amazon CodeWhisperer, an AI-powered coding assistant that improves developer productivity significantly.
According to Variety, Amazon plans to develop its own generative AI applications, but Jassy believes that most of these applications will be created by other companies, with a strong possibility that a large number of them will be built on AWS, Amazon’s cloud computing platform. As the former head of Amazon Web Services, Jassy’s experience and optimism about AWS’s capabilities play a crucial role in this strategy.
Regarding concerns raised by WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, where the unions are seeking guarantees from studios like Amazon Studios to limit AI’s use in productions, Jassy did not directly address the issue.
Generative AI continues to be a topic of debate in the entertainment industry, with concerns about the use of AI-generated likeness without consent. Amazon, along with other studios, is navigating this complex landscape to strike a balance between technological advancements and ensuring performers’ rights are protected.
