AWS CEO Matt Garman Says AI Is Creating New Jobs

Amazon Web Services (AWS) CEO Matt Garman has challenged widespread concerns about artificial intelligence displacing workers, suggesting that whilst AI will transform white-collar roles, predictions of mass job losses are heavily exaggerated.

On an episode of the Platformer podcast this week, Matt challenged the idea that AI could lead to the dissolution of large parts of the modern workforce.

In response to the concern, he said he believes half of white-collar jobs “may change” because of the technology, however, it doesn’t mean they will cease to exist.

Matt used Microsoft Excel as a historical parallel, noting how the software enhanced rather than replaced workers when it was introduced: "Wipe out and change are different," he explains. "The key thing is not to look at a still picture of the world and say that job's not going to exist.

"New jobs will be created."

AI's role in job creation

According to Matt, AI is already contributing to job creation across multiple industries rather than solely diminishing employment opportunities. "What I tell people at Amazon is – there are going to be lots of jobs," he tells listeners.

He addressed concerns that AI could render entry-level positions obsolete, arguing instead that these workers remain highly valuable to organisations.

Matt highlighted that entry-level employees are cost-effective to hire and bring fresh perspectives to company culture and operational tools. "They're some of the very best employees you can possibly have," Matt says.

"They come in with an energy and excitement, a new view on things. If you just have the exact same people you've had for the last 15 years, you don't get that energy and excitement and new ideas."

Supporting this position, Amazon plans to hire more than 11,000 software development engineering interns and early-career software development engineers globally in 2026. Matt suggests that workers willing to acquire new skills could establish sustainable careers in the AI era, even if those roles differ significantly from current positions.

"If you look at what your job was two years ago, and you look at what your job is going to be in two years, it's going to be vastly different. You're going to have a job – you're going to have probably a more exciting and interesting job," he says, adding that workers "are going to have to be willing to learn".

Adaptability over technical skills

Matt indicates that worker adaptability might eventually outweigh specific technical competencies when organisations evaluate talent. "I actually think one of the things we start to look for in employees is not what skill set you have," he explains, but rather "whether you have the ability to learn".

Whilst industry discussions continue around potential obsolescence in the tech sector, Amazon is maintaining its AI investment in AWS, which currently generates around US$130bn in annual revenue and remains integral to the company's global cloud and AI infrastructure.

The company is also investing in AI tools including coding assistants, security systems, productivity software and recruitment technologies capable of automating the hiring process.

According to Matt, these technologies are already reshaping work patterns across software development and the broader organisation, suggesting that the transformation he describes could already be underway at Amazon itself.