Amazon Releases Memorandum on the Role of Developers in the AI Era

Amazon published a memorandum that caused concern among employees, discussing the role of developers in using artificial intelligence. The document was written by Turk Turkowitz, Vice President and Chief Engineer, and was initially sent to programmers and their managers in September 2026. This memorandum emphasizes the importance of achieving customer outcomes and engineering judgment, which should not be delegated to AI. The document also states: "If your work does not benefit from using current AI tools, it is a finding, not a failure."

In the document, Turk Turkowitz challenges a practice called "tokenmaxxing," which involved employees creating unnecessary tasks to boost their positions on an internal ranking. Amazon closed KiroRank, this ranking, in May 2026 after issues related to its use emerged. Turk Turkowitz also notes that "tokenmaxxing contradicts fragility," highlighting Amazon's emphasis on frugality. Amid labor issues within the company, Amazon also announced the reduction of 250 jobs, which engineers believe is related to these changes. This memorandum has become a topic of discussion amid general engineer concerns about the application of AI technologies, particularly due to recent changes within the company. Turk Turkowitz emphasizes the need to evaluate not only the number of tokens created but also the real benefit and improvement in work quality. Now, as many companies face massive changes and uncertainty, Amazon's workforce is experiencing anxiety about their career prospects. In the current instability, it is important for developers to openly communicate when AI does not benefit their work. This desire indicates variables in assessing their work quality and may create uncertainty in the belief in evaluating their achievements. Ultimately, these metrics, intended to aid in evaluation, may become a source of problems for career development.

While external evaluation of project outcomes continues, within the company, there is an opinion that employees' views on the inefficiency of AI application may influence decisions on promotion and evaluation of their work. Engineers point out that the existing system was filled with ambiguous messages that can be used to the advantage of both management and employees, depending on the situation. The consequences of such an approach may create additional risks for personnel work and cause employee dissatisfaction. Thus, Turk Turkowitz's memo underscores the complexity of using AI in development and the need to avoid a mechanical approach to performance metrics. The current climate in the company and the threat of job cuts certainly add to the tension within the team. Engineers express their concerns about how their roles will change and how the developed evaluation mechanisms will take into account the real result of work, not just activity, which already affects a number of employees.