Asger Risom
The rapid spread of artificial intelligence has reshaped hiring patterns across global companies, and few firms illustrate that shift more clearly than Amazon.
The rapid spread of artificial intelligence has reshaped hiring patterns across global companies, and few firms illustrate that shift more clearly than Amazon.
As automation expands inside the tech giant’s vast workforce, its founder offered a stark prediction about who will thrive in a labor market transformed by machine learning.
Creativity as a safeguard
During an appearance at Italian Tech Week 2025, Jeff Bezos delivered a blunt message about the future of employment. According to elEconomista.es, he argued that the workers AI will “never be able to replace” are those who can invent — people capable of generating original ideas, not just executing established tasks.
Bezos said this capacity will define the boundaries between human and machine contributions. Human creativity, he added, is the trait that will remain difficult for algorithms to mimic, positioning inventive thinkers as the least vulnerable to automation.
The Amazon founder pointed to his own experience as evidence, saying: “Put me in front of a whiteboard and I can generate a hundred ideas in half an hour.”
He emphasized that invention “not only drives innovation, but is the foundation of all technological progress,” describing it as the force behind his company’s success.
A shifting labor landscape
Amazon — with one of the world’s largest global workforces — has conducted sweeping layoffs across multiple divisions in recent years. The outlet notes that many of these cuts were linked to AI systems taking over duties traditionally handled by human staff.
This trend is not unique to Amazon. The publication highlights that similar reductions are becoming more common across industries as companies deploy automated systems to manage logistics, customer support and data-heavy operational roles.
Bezos warned that as AI grows more capable, only a fraction of employees will be insulated from displacement, and those will be the people who can originate new solutions rather than apply existing ones.
What Bezos looks for in hiring
Bezos said this focus on invention is central to his own hiring philosophy. “When I interview candidates, I ask them to give me an example of something they’ve invented,” he explained.
He argued that in a market increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, the most valuable — and most resilient — workers will be those who can create new ideas and systems. This mindset, he suggested, will be essential for advancing innovation rather than simply maintaining existing processes.
The road ahead
Bezos’ remarks add to a growing set of warnings from business leaders about the scale of change AI could drive. With major firms automating complex workflows, employees who rely solely on routine tasks may see their roles transformed or replaced.
According to Bezos, the takeaway is clear: originality and invention might be emerging as the strongest anchors for job security in the next phase of technological disruption.
This article is made and published by Asger Risom, who may have used AI in the preparation
