Amazon tells tokenmaxxing devs to slow their AI roll

Maximize value, not token usage, Amazon has told its engineers, citing concerns about rising AI costs and complexity.

Amazon made the strategy shift public on Tuesday in a note to engineering teams outlining the changing role of its software development engineers in the age of AI.

“Our most prolific engineers have demonstrated that neither the developer role nor their output is defined by the use of AI,” Amazon VP and distinguished engineer Terk Terkowitz wrote in the note. “We're now in the era of the Renaissance Developer, blending AI tools with human judgment and domain expertise to build entirely new things.”

In other words, Amazon wants its developers using AI, but burning through tokens isn't the same thing as getting useful work done.

Rather than define the developer role by how AI is used, the memo focuses on what isn't changing so fast: the need to deliver useful software and results for customers and the business.

“It is difficult to …