Latest news with #Leipzig
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
I'm a former Amazon developer. Jassy's memo doesn't surprise me, and I don't think engineers should worry about their jobs.
Shahad Ishraq was a systems development engineer at Amazon in Germany for just over three years. He quit at the end of May after the company implemented a five-day RTO. Ishraq said Andy Jassy's memo wasn't surprising, and he isn't concerned about his future career. This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with 30-year-old Shahad Ishraq, from Germany. The following has been edited for length and clarity. Reading Andy Jassy's new memo on generative AI, I'm not surprised by anything. I worked at Amazon for nearly three and a half years and left in late May because of the 5-day RTO mandate. My commute took an hour and a half each way, so I wanted to move to another job where I could still see my career progressing and do interesting work. The memo feels consistent with what I'd been hearing from management and Jassy while working at Amazon. I think Jassy's comments are to show shareholders he's invested in the technology. I initially worried about AI when I wasn't as familiar with the products. However, using AI will give you a better understanding of what it's capable of and what skills you can develop to differentiate yourself. I joined Amazon in 2022 as a systems development engineer, working in Leipzig, Germany. My day-to-day work involved designing and implementing software and performing operational tasks. When AI tools first came out a few years ago, we were told we could use them, but we should be very careful and follow the company's policies on their usage. Amazon is a huge company. Within it, I spotted and heard about different approaches to AI adoption. There seemed to be a bunch of excited early adopters who shared their findings with everyone. There were people like me who followed the first bunch and saw what went well. There were also some skeptics and a small number of engineers who were outright against using AI. For me, the dawn of AI was a bit scary at first. Everyone was saying it would put me out of a job. Unless you test the technology yourself and see what it can do, you'll fear the unknown. AI wasn't part of my job until sometime in 2024. There were also some barriers to using the technology. When I first joined Amazon, ChatGPT wasn't even available, but when it did come out in 2022 we couldn't use it that extensively because of data security issues that come with copying our code into those models. When Anthropic's Claude became available within Amazon Bedrock — the company's internal service for developing generative AI applications — we were able to make more use of AI. In my last few months at Amazon, I started experimenting a lot with approved AI tools, doing extensive tests with them. They don't do everything for me, but I've integrated these tools into my workflow, such as by asking it to create a plan for my tasks or spot differences between documents. I noticed it often fails, and I have to make changes, but overall, it has improved my speed and increased my throughput significantly. Andy Jassy's memo feels very consistent with what I've been told internally before I left Amazon and what the company has communicated publicly. News articles talking about the memo focus on Jassy saying that a lot of jobs will be taken by AI. However, in the same sentence, he also says jobs will be created. I've tried creating production-level applications using AI, and it takes a lot of effort to get these products ready. A company like Amazon can't roll out an application that breaks and causes havoc. They have to have firewalls, checks, and tests. I don't see people going out of jobs in huge numbers soon. Amazon went on a hiring spree during COVID. If we see more layoffs, I think it will be associated with cutting back after that spree, rather than the impacts of AI. AI agents are helping out software engineers a lot, and the amount of work agents do will probably increase gradually. I'm able to get agents working on three different things, while I look into other tasks. But AI hallucinates quite a lot. It does things it's not asked to do. I often have to correct an AI agent producing code. Humans will be required to build guardrails and act as guardrails themselves. Implementing these guardrails will take time, and I think this will slow down the AI agent hype. I think Jassy's comments about AI are to show shareholders he's invested in the technology. Memos have to come out. Jassy has to place a lot of optimism around AI; otherwise, shareholders will think they're not doing anything with AI. My advice to Amazon employees is to start using AI as much as possible to overcome their fear of the unknown. I now work as a software engineer at a utilities company. The more I've been using AI, the more comfortable I feel about myself. I can see what skills I have that I can use to stay relevant. In tech, languages and developments come really fast. My guess is that people will need to use AI to write code and increase their throughput, and pure software engineers will gradually be replaced by people who have both software engineering and AI skills. I'm personally trying to learn these skills because I think they'll become more important. A spokesperson for Amazon told Business Insider, "Amazon employees use internal generative AI tools every day to innovate on behalf of our customers. We have safeguards in place for employee use of these technologies, including restrictions on sharing confidential information with third-party generative AI services." Do you have a story to share about the AI job market? Contact this reporter at ccheong@ Read the original article on Business Insider
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Benjamin Sesko's agent insists he will NOT 'blackmail' RB Leipzig over summer transfer as he breaks silence on Arsenal 'stumbling block'
Benjamin Sesko's agent has claimed that his client will only leave RB Leipzig this summer for a 'special club and project' and insisted he will not 'blackmail' the side over a move. The 22-year-old has been a long-time Gunners target, with the club having had offers rejected in May last year and the most recent January transfer window. Arsenal are keen to bolster their attacking options having finished second in the Premier League for a third-straight season. Sesko is their priority signing but however, according to German reporter Florian Plettenberg no bid has yet been submitted - and that is down to one key reason. Leipzig value Sesko between £68million and £85m - figures the north London outfit are reportedly unwilling to reach. Amid this apparent stand-off, his agent Elvis Basanovic has insisted that they will not force a move away from the German club and said it was take a 'special' proposal to prise him from the Red Bull Arena. 'Even if there may be - or will be - a strong desire of the player to move to a certain club, we will never force or blackmail RB Leipzig,' he told GiveMeSport. 'I believe this is not the right way, because the way you actually exit from the club shows your values. Values that you are bringing into a new club. 'I can understand in very big transfers, there are a lot of different interests but no matter what, I believe in football world should be more respect. So that's why we do things in the right way or we don;t do them. 'It's very simple, even maybe in the media it looks very complicated.' Earlier this week, reports in Germany claimed that the striker is yet to agree personal terms with the Gunners who are succession planning and continuing to monitor the situation with Sporting's wantaway striker Viktor Gyokeres. Basanovic would not be drawn on a timeline of events for his client, though he did reject the claim that they had requested Leipzig accept a lower fee this summer. Basanovic instead said that Sesko could leave Leipzig 'next week, or next year or in three years'. '[Sesko's] numbers at his age compared to some strikers with already great careers at his age are confirming my words,' added Basanovic. 'He will move from RB Leipzig only when we recognise a special club, a special project with a special coach.' Leipzig only finished seventh in the Bundesliga in 2024-25 and will not be able to offer their star striker Champions League football next season, while the Gunners will be playing in Europe's elite club competition. The in-demand 22-year-old Slovenian has already rejected a move to Saudi side Al-Hilal, such is his preference to join Arsenal.
Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Benjamin Sesko's agent moves to 'clarify a few things' amid Arsenal 'agreement'
Slovenia and RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko is one of the most in-demand strikers this summer and his agent has spoken about the future of the Arsenal-linked frontman Benjamin Sesko's agent Elvis Basanovic has denied putting any pressure on RB Leipzig to lower their asking price for the striker. Sesko is understood to have agreed personal terms with Premier League side Arsenal, but the Gunners still have work to do. Leipzig are prepared to sell Sesko after missing out on Champions League qualification, but only if they receive a hefty fee - thought to be north of £60million. Basanovic believes all will become clear in due course, but moved to "clarify" the situation and insisted he wouldn't push for a lower fee out of respect for the Bundesliga side. 'This is far from truth!" he told Givemesport when asked about rumours of leaning on Leipzig over their asking price "We respect RB Leipzig and I am 100% convinced RB Leipzig will also respect our decision for the next step when we decide to do it." He addedL "Even if there may be - or will be - a strong desire of the player to move to a certain club, we will never force or blackmail RB Leipzig. I believe this is not the right way, because the way you actually exit from the club shows your values. Values that you are bringing into a new club. "I can understand in very big transfers, there are a lot of different interests but no matter what, I believe in football world should be more respect. So that's why we do things in the right way or we don't do them. It's very simple, even maybe in the media it looks very complicated." Sesko scored 21 goals in all competitions for Leipzig last season, with 13 of those coming in the Bundesliga. That was enough for him to finish the season as his team's top scorer, but a late-season collapse saw their European hopes go up in smoke. With five games to go, Leipzig sat in the fourth and final Champions League qualification place. They won none of those last five, though, and that saw them miss out on European qualification altogether. Sesko was linked with an Arsenal switch in the summer of 2024 as well, only to instead sign a new contract at his current club. That deal runs until 2029, though he could yet leave sooner. "We have a team with great potential and a balanced mix of young and experienced players. I'm really looking forward to taking the next steps with this team," Sesko said when his extension was confirmed. "We've already achieved a lot in my first season and often shown the amount of quality and outstanding football we can bring to the pitch. But there's still a lot more to be done and that's now our common goal." Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Metro
2 days ago
- Sport
- Metro
Benjamin Sesko's agent sends message to Arsenal and Man Utd over transfer
Benjamin Sesko is ready to join a 'special club' this summer but the Arsenal target will not attempt to force his way out of RB Leipzig. The Gunners have made the Slovenia international and Sporting CP Star Viktor Gyokeres their top targets this summer as they seek to bring in a striker to lead Mikel Arteta's attack next season. Deals for both players are being explored with reports in Portugal claiming Arsenal have already seen an offer of €60million plus €10m in add-ons rejected for Gyokeres. Talks to bring Sesko to north London have been held but there has been no official bid for the 22-year-old, with Leipzig valuing him at between €80million and €100million. Gyokeres' relationship with Sporting has turned toxic over the last 10 days with the Sweden international determined to leave the club by any means necessary. Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro's Football Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link so we can send you football news tailored to you. The situation with Sesko is more serene by comparison with his agent Elvis Basanovic insisting there will be no attempts to engineer a move away from Leipzig. Asked about rumours he is pressing Leipzig to lower their demands, Basanovic told Give Me Sport: 'This is far from truth! We respect RB Leipzig and I am 100% convinced RB Leipzig will also respect our decision for the next step when we decide to do it. 'Even if there may be – or will be – a strong desire of the player to move to a certain club, we will never force or blackmail RB Leipzig. 'I believe this is not the right way, because the way you actually exit from the club shows your values. Values that you are bringing into a new club. 'I can understand in very big transfers, there are a lot of different interests but no matter what, I believe in football world should be more respect. 'So that's why we do things in the right way or we don't do them. It's very simple, even maybe in the media it looks very complicated.' Basanovic even suggested Sesko could choose to remain in Germany if the right club does not come forward with the right offer this summer. 'Well, his numbers at his age compared to some strikers with already great careers at his age are confirming my words. He will move from RB Leipzig only when we recognise a special club, a special project with a special coach.' Asked when a move could happen, he added: 'It can be next week… or next year, or in three years.' More Trending Manchester United also have long-standing interest in Sesko with Ruben Amorim eager to sign a striker this summer. Liam Delap rejected a move to Old Trafford to instead join Chelsea with Gyokeres' repreenatives also informing United he is not interested in a move. It remains to be seen whether Sesko would consider the red half of Manchester given the lack of European football on offer next season., MORE: Man Utd striker Rasmus Hojlund told to reject £38m transfer and join rival Premier League club MORE: Arsenal star Myles Lewis-Skelly makes decision over Real Madrid transfer MORE: Chelsea star Mykhailo Mudryk charged by FA for doping and faces four-year ban
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
RB Leipzig and Arsenal in negotiations over Benjamin Seško
Arsenal and RB Leipzig are now in negotiations over striker Benjamin Seško after an agreement was reached with the player, reports Bild. Previously, it was reported that Seško and Arsenal have reached an agreement over a move this summer. While the fee for the Slovenian is likely to be between €80-100m. Advertisement The striker is not the only player who is expected to leave the Red Bull Arena this summer. Xavi Simons has made it clear that he wants to leave the club, and Leipzig will demand €70m for the Dutch international. Tottenham, Newcastle, Arsenal, Manchester United, as well as Barcelona, have all made contact with the 22-year-old. Seško's striker partner Loïs Openda has also been put up for sale by Leipzig. On top of the departures of stalwarts of the club such as Peter Gulacsi, Lukas Klostermann, Willi Orban, Kevin Kampl and Amadou Haidara, and Yussuf Poulsen and returning loanees, Timo Werner, Andre Silva and Eljif Elmas, Leipzig could rake in up to €250m in sales this summer. GGFN | Jack Meenan
