‘Prove AI use’ says Amazon if you want a promotion

Posted on July 21, 2025 by michelleclarke2015
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IN TODAY’S NEWSLETTER
1. Amazon says ‘prove AI use’ if you want a promotion
2. AI fights back against insurance claim denials
3. Chimps, AI and the human language
 AI AT WORKAmazon says ‘prove AI use’ if you want a promotion


Amazon employees working in its smart home division now face a new career reality: demonstrate measurable AI usage or risk being overlooked for promotions. Ring founder and Amazon RBKS division head Jamie Siminoff announced the policy in a Wednesday email, requiring all promotion applications to detail specific examples of AI use. The mandate applies to Amazon’s Ring and Blink security cameras, Key in-home delivery service and Sidewalk wireless network — all part of the RBKS organization that Siminoff oversees.

Starting in the third quarter, employees seeking advancement must describe how they’ve used generative AI or other AI tools to improve operational efficiency or customer experience. Managers face an even higher bar, needing to prove they’ve used AI to accomplish “more with less” while avoiding headcount expansion.The policy reflects CEO Andy Jassy’s broader push to return Amazon to its startup roots, emphasizing speed, efficiency and innovative thinking. Siminoff’s return to Amazon two months ago, replacing former RBKS leader Liz Hamren, came amid this cultural shift toward leaner operations.

Amazon isn’t alone in tying career advancement to AI adoption. Microsoft has begun evaluating employees based on their use of internal AI tools, while Shopify announced in April that managers must prove AI cannot perform a job before approving new hires.The requirements vary by role at RBKS:Individual contributors must explain how AI improved their performance or efficiency. Managers must demonstrate strategic AI implementation that delivers better results without additional staff. All promotion applications must include concrete examples of AI projects and their outcomes. Daily AI use is strongly encouraged across product and operations teams. Siminoff has encouraged RBKS employees to utilize AI at least once a day since June, describing the transformation as reminiscent of Ring’s early days. “We are reimagining Ring from the ground up with AI first,” Siminoff wrote in a recent email obtained by Business Insider. “It feels like the early days again — same energy and the same potential to revolutionize how we do our neighborhood safety.”A Ring spokesperson confirmed the promotion initiative to Fortune, noting that Siminoff’s rule applies only to RBKS employees, not Amazon as a whole. However, the policy aligns with comments Jassy made last month that AI would reduce the company’s workforce through improved efficiency.Amazon has made AI fluency a job requirement, disguised as a career development opportunity. The RBKS policy transforms technology adoption from an optional skill to a mandatory gateway for advancement. This creates a troubling precedent. Career growth now depends on demonstrating measurable AI integration, rather than traditional performance metrics such as revenue generation, team leadership, or customer satisfaction. Employees who excel in areas that don’t easily mesh with current AI tools face an uphill battle for promotion.The policy also assumes equal access to AI-integrated projects across teams. Not every role at Ring or Blink naturally lends itself to AI experimentation, yet the promotion requirements make no distinction between departments with obvious AI applications and those where integration feels forced. Siminoff’s approach may drive efficiency gains, but it risks creating internal inequality based on technological adoption rather than actual job performance. The most concerning aspect is how this could become the template for promotion policies across Amazon and beyond.

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About michelleclarke2015

Life event that changes all: Horse riding accident in Zimbabwe in 1993, a fractured skull et al including bipolar anxiety, chronic fatigue …. co-morbidities (Nietzche 'He who has the reason why can deal with any how' details my health history from 1993 to date). 17th 2017 August operation for breast cancer (no indications just an appointment came from BreastCheck through the Post). Trinity College Dublin Business Economics and Social Studies (but no degree) 1997-2003; UCD 1997/1998 night classes) essays, projects, writings. Trinity Horizon Programme 1997/98 (Centre for Women Studies Trinity College Dublin/St. Patrick's Foundation (Professor McKeon) EU Horizon funded: research study of 15 women (I was one of this group and it became the cornerstone of my journey to now 2017) over 9 mth period diagnosed with depression and their reintegration into society, with special emphasis on work, arts, further education; Notes from time at Trinity Horizon Project 1997/98; Articles written for Irishhealth.com 2003/2004; St Patricks Foundation monthly lecture notes for a specific period in time; Selection of Poetry including poems written by people I know; Quotations 1998-2017; other writings mainly with theme of social justice under the heading Citizen Journalism Ireland. Letters written to friends about life in Zimbabwe; Family history including Michael Comyn KC, my grandfather, my grandmother's family, the O'Donnellan ffrench Blake-Forsters; Moral wrong: An acrimonious divorce but the real injustice was the Catholic Church granting an annulment – you can read it and make your own judgment, I have mine. Topics I have written about include annual Brain Awareness week, Mashonaland Irish Associataion in Zimbabwe, Suicide (a life sentence to those left behind); Nostalgia: Tara Hill, Co. Meath.
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