Amazon has launched a program called "AI Ready" to train at least 2 million people by 2025 on artificial intelligence skills, according to a Nov. 20 report from The Wall Street Journal.
The program focuses on how to make use of generative AI technology and includes eight online courses that target people in tech and tech-adjacent roles, which are free to access online for employees, including people who work outside of the company. Courses are catered to both beginners and more experienced professionals.
AI "is going to be the most transformative technology we encounter in our generation, but it won't reach its full potential unless we really have the workforce ready to embrace it and turbocharge it in a big way," Swami Sivasubramanian, Amazon's vice president of database, analytics and machine learning, told the Journal.
The effort comes amid high demand for employees skilled in AI talent, the company said in a news release. In a recent survey conducted by AWS, 73% of employers said hiring AI-skilled workers is a top priority, though 3 out of 4 say they are unable to find the talent they need. In the corporate world, there is a growing recognition that AI will become more integral to business operations, with 93% of surveyed employers saying they expect they will be employing AI solutions within the next five years.
Right now, many companies are focused on determining which roles AI will eliminate versus which roles it will augment, what type of additional training will be required for different roles, and how to get all employees up to speed on how to best work alongside the technology for basic functions, experts told the Journal.
"Most people right now, this is all new to them," Spencer Kimball, chief executive of database startup Cockroach Labs, told the news outlet. "And given how quickly things can change, it's not just new employees that come, it's something that is a constant training process for all of your employees."
Amazon's push into AI training is seen as an effort to catch up with its competitors Microsoft and Google, which have invested heavily in the field, and to gain an edge in attracting skilled workers.