AI Expert Andrew Ng Joins Amazon Board Amid Surging AI Race

Amazon announced the addition of AI expert Andrew Ng to its board of directors on April 11. Ng has a background in leading AI projects at tech giants like Google and Baidu.

Dr. Andrew Ng holds several key roles in the AI field. He manages AI Fund, a venture studio for AI startups; leads DeepLearning.AI, an AI education company; founded Landing AI, specializing in computer vision software; and co-founded Coursera, an online learning platform. He is also an adjunct professor at Stanford University.

Reuters suggested that this move is part of Amazon’s strategy to remain competitive in the rapidly advancing field of AI technology.

According to Reuters, Amazon’s cloud services division is feeling the heat from Microsoft, which has teamed up with OpenAI, the creators of ChatGPT. Microsoft has also started using this AI technology in its Azure cloud services. At the same time, Amazon’s Alexa is trying to keep up with new AI chat tools from OpenAI and Google.

Effective April 9, Ng’s new role at Amazon came after a series of job cuts at Amazon due to slowing sales and spending in its cloud and e-commerce sectors due to factors like inflation and increasing interest rates.

These layoffs involved hundreds of employees from various departments, including Amazon Web Services, Prime Video, its healthcare division, and the Alexa team.

In a recent letter to shareholders, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy discussed the company’s plans to continue cutting costs. He mentioned that even though Amazon’s cloud sales are improving and its advertising business is doing well, the company is still finding ways to spend less on some parts of its business, like shipping and handling.

Amazon stated that artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI, represents a transformative breakthrough. Dr. Andrew Ng brings a wealth of experience in machine learning and AI applications. Amazon said his insights will enhance our board’s understanding of AI’s potential challenges and opportunities.