Amazon announced it is testing a new generation of warehouse robots and AI-powered tools designed to boost productivity and streamline workflows. According to the company, these innovations are meant not only to accelerate goods handling but also to support workers, while experts warn about the significant risk of large-scale job displacement.
Amazon currently employs around 750,000 human workers and operates 750,000 robots in its warehouses. Among the latest tested systems are Digit, a humanoid robot capable of lifting and moving boxes, and the AI Fulfillment Agent, which provides workers with real-time instructions to optimise tasks. The long-term aim is to sharply reduce the proportion of manual labour while increasing logistical efficiency. These developments align with Amazon’s strategy of steadily increasing automation since 2012.
The implications are substantial: technological advances are making an ever-growing number of tasks automatable, creating opportunities for efficiency gains and cost reductions but also intensifying the risk of worker displacement. Current trials demonstrate Amazon’s continued leadership in warehouse automation, setting a potential global benchmark for both logistics innovation and labour market transformation.
Sources:
1.
2.
Tyler Greenawalt
3.
