This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) has told its software engineers to avoid tokenmaxxing, or inflating the use of AI tools to look productive, according to a Tuesday company posting of an internal memo.
The document, first shared with staff in September, updates how Amazon defines the jobs of software development engineers and their managers. It says AI is only beginning to reshape the field and expects it to sit at the center of engineering work going forward.
Tokens are the units of text that AI models process, and heavy token use can raise costs. Amazon said measures such as token counts, how widely AI tools are adopted, and the number of code changes or reviews are poor yardsticks for judging team performance. The company said those figures can add expense and complexity.
An Amazon spokesperson told CNBC the company has not set limits on how many tokens employees may use. Amazon shut down an internal leaderboard in May after finding that some workers were gaming it to rank higher.
