Amazon claims its robots aren’t coming for your fulfillment-center job

Employees at its warehouses across the U.S. have alleged unsafe working conditions, and they fret over job security in the age of artificial intelligence. Amazon’s chief technologist, Tye Brady, disputes both counts.

Last week, during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Amazon held its biggest-ever holiday shopping event. To meet the demand and maintain the ultrafast delivery its customers have come to expect while fending off stiff competition, the company has begun retrofitting its 185 fulfillment centers worldwide with a new generation of proprietary robotics systems. Meanwhile, working conditions for the human beings at several of Amazon’s 185 fulfillment centers worldwide have come under fire. In just the past year, employees and former employees at facilities in Atlanta, Staten Island, and Shakopee, Minnesota have accused the company of creating an unsafe environment.