AI engineers at top tech companies like Microsoft and others are reportedly facing burnout

Artificial Intelligence (AI) engineers at top tech companies around the globe are reportedly experiencing burnout. Well, it seems the ongoing AI race is to blame.

Back in November 2022 when OpenAI unveiled ChatGPT, it sparked a race among global tech giants to launch their AI services as fast as they can.

Top tech giants including Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and more are the notable ones trying their best. But with a potential cost – burnout of their AI engineers.

The ongoing AI race is taking a toll on engineers at major tech companies

A dedicated report on burnout among AI engineers was first published by CNBC on May 3, 2024. The news agency reports that it received several messages from AI engineers.

Reportedly, the messages claim the superiors in such companies are pressing them too hard to get AI-related products released.

Some other claims made by these AI engineers are enough to raise your eyebrows about some of the companies running the AI race.

Microsoft is running an “AI rat race” according to its engineer

One name that emerged in the report was none other than Microsoft. In a message to CNBC, one of the Microsoft engineers tipped that the company is competing in an “AI rat race.”

That’s not all, the engineer further adds that the tech giant prefers speed over ethics and safety. And, it is pushing too hard so that it can quickly launch its AI products released in the market.

When the news agency reached Microsoft to get a comment on the same, there was no response. Interestingly, all these claims came right after Microsoft published its first responsible AI transparency report.

Amazon is also prioritizing ‘speed’ like Microsoft over everything else to launch its AI products as soon as possible

Amazon is reportedly another company that has been pushing its AI engineers too hard resulting in burnout. One anonymous engineer told CNBC about a bizarre incident from late last year. CNBC narrates the engineer’s words and reports:

Late last year, an artificial intelligence engineer at Amazon was wrapping up the work week and getting ready to spend time with some friends visiting from out of town. Then, a Slack message popped up. He suddenly had a deadline to deliver a project by 6 a.m. on Monday.

There went the weekend. The AI engineer bailed on his friends, who had traveled from the East Coast to the Seattle area. Instead, he worked day and night to finish the job. But it was all for nothing. The project was ultimately “deprioritized,”

Amazon’s AI engineer who talked about burnout also says that the company is doing the same thing as Microsoft and trying to launch AI products faster without giving testing and accuracy much priority.

When CNBC reached out to get a comment, an Amazon spokesperson replied via an email and said the company is focused on building and deploying useful, reliable, and secure generative AI innovations that reinvent and enhance customers’ experiences.

The spokesperson’s email to CNBC also talks about the engineer’s experience which reads:

It’s inaccurate and misleading to use a single employee’s anecdote to characterize the experience of all Amazon employees working in AI.

While the above examples only include Amazon and Microsoft, AI engineers at Apple and Google are also experiencing burnout resulting from immense work pressure, short deadlines, lack of resources, etc.