Impact of AI on Business Operations

Chapter 1: Introduction

1.1 Background information

The industrial revolution has fueled the development of artificial intelligence and robots for use in the production and service industry. These developments across the world have led to efficiency and improved quality of goods and services in the health sector, banking, research, agriculture, and defense (McKewen, 2019). Various companies have adopted production methods involving artificial intelligence and robotics intending to increase the efficiency of production, improve the quality of goods and services while at the same time reducing the cost of production. Artificial intelligence and the use of robots has digitally changed the global economy. How businesses are run and managed, hence it has been dubbed the fourth industrial revolution in an economic and political term (Parkes & Wellman, 2015). There has been continued and increased application and use of machines in different sectors that govern and influence humans. For instance, in business, it is likely to have a significant impact on the socio-economic balance of the current economy. For example, factors such as employment and standards of living governed by levels of income would be profoundly affected if artificial intelligence replaces social work. This, in return, would reduce income per capita and lower the purchasing power. Simon (2019) highlights that one machine or robot used by Amazon can reportedly replace at least 24 jobs at each location, which may lead to significant job losses. However, while these machines have been brought into the company, the company has also significantly expanded, thereby instead of people losing jobs, they are forcefully pushed to the last mile of the company's operations which makes the company more flexible and efficient (Wilson et al., 2017). This points out the existence of a wide range of impacts that come along as a result of the application and use of artificial intelligence and robots in business and forms the basis of the research stud. This, in turn, aims to explore the impacts of using Artificial intelligence and robots on the market, especially with a focus on Amazon as a case study. First, the study explores the types of artificial intelligence used by amazon. It identifies legal restrictions on their use and implementation to have a clear understanding of their impact on the business.

1.2 Problem statement

The continued and increased application and use of machines in different sectors that influence humans, for instance, in business, is likely to have a significant impact to the socio-economic balance of the current economy especially when it comes to factors such as employment and standards of living governed by levels of income. Simon (2019) highlights that one machine or robot used by Amazon can reportedly replace at least 24 jobs at each location, which may lead to significant job losses. However, while these machines have been brought into the company, the company has also significantly expanded, thereby instead of people losing jobs, they increase the company’s operations, which makes the company more flexible and efficient (Wilson et al., 2017). While artificial intelligence and the use of robots are increasingly becoming popular, adoption by businesses has remained criticized. As most researchers focus on the impact of artificial intelligence, specifically on human employment, the economic impact is widely understudied. In an attempt to bridge this gap, this study investigates the effects of artificial intelligence on businesses.

1.3 Justification and Rationale

While artificial intelligence is widely accepted in the society and business environment, many people associate artificial intelligence with the replacement of human employment hence the loss of jobs in the business. While that may be true, artificial intelligence does not serve as a replacement for personal information but as a supporting tool and still require human intervention to update and maintain accuracy. Dasoriya et al. (2018) point out that the impact of artificial intelligence in the future is unforeseeable and unpredictable, capabilities and limitations of existing and yet to be developed. Intelligent machines are open to manipulation, and as innovators compete to establish the ultimately capable computers, their interaction with one another and with humans is still open to speculation (Bolton et al., 2018). Owing to the unpredictability in the use of artificial intelligence and freedom of innovation, it is essential to study the impact of artificial intelligence on existing businesses to establish future regulations and legislation to address the adverse effects.

1.4 Research Aim

The study aims to explore the impacts of using AI and robots in business through a case study of the Amazon. Given that a wide range of different machines, Robots, and AI systems are already being used in Amazon, my study focuses on Alexa and packaging robots as the most significant types of artificially intelligent machines used by amazon in their daily operations. The research was guided by the following objectives:

1.5 Research Objectives

To evaluate the different types of artificial intelligence and Robots used by Amazon

To determine the various applications and job segments that the artificial intelligence and robots are being used for by Amazon

To evaluate the impact of the use of artificial intelligence and Robots by Amazon

1.6 Research Questions

What are some of the types of artificial intelligence and Robots being used by Amazon?

In which job segments and how is the artificial intelligence and robots applied within Amazon?

What are the impacts of using artificial intelligence and robots by the Amazon on the general economy?

Chapter 2: Literature Review

2.1 Introduction

The efficiency of artificial intelligence has enabled its adoption in almost all aspects of human life relating to education, health, business, and daily activities. Artificial intelligence, such as the internet machine and robotics, all impact the connection between the physical and the digital world, enabling the use of robots in carrying out a wide range of conscious activities and tasks within different disciplines of human endeavors. Nichols (2018) attributes the rapid development and application of robotics in human efforts, including business to be a result of four factors, including Falling sensor prices, open-source development, rapid prototyping, and convergence of disparate technologies. By understanding the models of artificial intelligence, we create an association with existing types of intelligent digital technologies adopted by the amazon. Exploring existing legislation is also essential as it enables us to establish the freedom and limitations given in the use of artificial intelligence as that would affect the impact on the same. Further, artificial intelligence and robotic are playing an essential role in human beings life as it has been created their commonplace in people's life. In this digital era, people are severe concerns towards artificial intelligence as it facilitates the people in various ways. Several robots are also available nowadays, which can use to perform several tasks. It can be said that human being is highly dependable on artificial intelligence, and they cannot imagine their life without the technical products and services. This is the reason the companies are highly focused on introducing robotics products and automation goods that can lead to higher profits for the organization. In this case of Amazon, it can be seen that the management has introduced a large number of digital products for its customers due to the increasing demand for artificial intelligence. Amazon is a well-developed and successful organization that leaves a mark in developing artificial intelligence and robotics products all around the world. Along with it, artificial intelligence is a high emphasis on machine learning where a machine can operate with a large number of statistics and data. However, robotics can perform several tasks, including music player, weather forecast, lyrics, and video player, and much more. Artificial intelligence is also used in making toys for kids that can lead to happiness for the children.

2.2 Models of Artificial Intelligence and their use in Amazon

The concept of artificial intelligence had existed in mathematicians, philosophy, and scientist’s minds as early as the 1950s, with Alan Turing being considered the fore founder of artificial intelligence after he developed the Turing model. The idea came up as a challenge on the ability of computers to store, use the information, and perform tasks as the human mind. To explore the concept, various scientists started on a journey to test the theory and ability of computers (Pfeifer, 1988). Research on artificial intelligence faced multiple challenges in the 1950s in that as much as computers could perform tasks, they could not store commands nor remember what duties they performed. Computers in the 1950s were also costly, and such studies were only limited to the corporation and institutions that who could afford to lease or buy them. In 1955 the concept of artificial intelligence was initialized by Allen Newell, Hebert Simon, and john Cliff Shaw which was funded by the RAND (research and development) corporation. In 2012, Amazon introduced the use of robots in their warehouses following the acquisition of the Kiva based systems. To fulfill the business demands and expansion of the company has currently adopted the use of over 100, 000 robots in their warehouses. The robot arm is the most utilized robot at Amazon warehouses. As one of the largest and leading e-commerce companies in the world, employing about 798,000 people across the globe, Amazon has been criticized for introducing robots into their warehouses. In defense, however, Amazon insists that the introduction of robots and, in particular, the robot arm does not replace human employment; instead, they are designed to assist human associates in handling hectic tasks. Cutting costs and expanding the profit margin through efficiency in service delivery is one of the main reasons why Amazon deploys the use of robots, Lee et al. (2010) however, state that overdependence on robots due to efficiency may lead to severe impacts due to a breakdown and costs for mitigating such disruptions may be higher. Rotman (2013) recognizes that technology has been replacing human employment; however, the change resulting from these replacements are not abrupt. Wilson et al. (2017) agree that the automation of businesses would lead to a significant loss of jobs across the world. However, he also states that the sophistication of artificial intelligence will be responsible for the creation of new and unique job opportunities that do not exist as of yet. To reduce bureaucracy, Amazon introduced Alexa, a virtual assistant, which enables clients to make orders and make payments. While the robotic arm handles manual duties through its mechanical skills, Alexa handles the cognitive function of the business, such as storing data, making decisions, and predicting patterns relevant to the industry while significantly reducing mental workload to employees (Maier et al., 2019). Amazon is highly focused on fulfilling customer's needs and demands to gain advantage and customer loyalty. For this purpose, the management of a company uses several strategies to break the internal barriers and to meet the set goals and objectives (Morgan, 2018). However, it is a time-consuming process that requires great attention and responsibility for the managerial level. It is very clear from the mission and vision of the company that Amazon is highly concerned with the innovation and creativity in the products and services to meet the customer's desires. Therefore, the company adopted the concept of artificial intelligence and robotics to reach the next level of success in the market. A flywheel is an essential approach of amazon that stores rotational energy and transfers that power to the machine's various parts and areas. In this manner, the management of the company reduces the wastage of energy and develops new products and devices for the sake of its customers. Today, the flywheel approach to artificial intelligence and robotics become a foundation of success in the business of amazon. Machine learning technology is an essential part of artificial intelligence that the teams of production of Amazon used to improve the services of its product, such as weather forecast, music player. Amazon's recommendation engine, Alexa, and amazon go store are three crucial models of the company that are the result of artificial intelligence and machine learning operations. Amazon is the first company that introduces a voice-powered virtual robot that can be controlled by the voice easily. Now, the other companies are also focused on artificial intelligence to give high competition to Amazon and to earn a substantial competitive advantage in the market.

According to Raj (2019), artificial intelligence is a useful tool that can enhance consistent customer experience and loyalty for the company. However, Amazon has already taken a considerable advantage from the synthetic intelligence approach; therefore, the company is now highly focused on offering personalized artificial intelligence solutions to small and large businesses in the market. In this way, the company is also increasing its profitability and gaining the trust of its customers to a greater extent.

2.3 Legislation guiding the use of Artificial Intelligence

Weak artificial intelligence is widely applicable in performing simple tasks such as driving or playing a game. However, it is every researcher's goal to develop a robust artificial intelligence, which would outperform human cognitive abilities. Designing a robust artificial intelligence in itself is a cognitive task and would help eradicated poverty or diseases. However, positive that may sound, concerns have been raised by various experts on whether the positive outcomes of these inventions outweigh the contrary interests (Eden et al., 2015). The main concerns are.

Autonomous weapons could cause death and mass destruction of property in the hands of the wrong people.

In the event, artificial intelligence is designed to do something positive but causes damage to achieve its initially intended purpose.

Over the past two decades, there has been a steady growth in the development of artificial intelligence, and its impact in a society mostly benefits are highly recognized. Scientists and mathematicians could study and predict the positive outcome of artificial intelligence than they would the adverse consequences, especially concerning self-awareness intelligence, which is yet to be developed (Collins & Moons, 2019). These concerns led to the creation of the presidential panel AAAI- 2880-2009 panel on the long-term future, expansion, and impact of artificial intelligence. The impact of artificial intelligence can be felt or seen in every aspect of society, such as banking, agriculture, healthcare, infrastructure, and security. Despite the full application of artificial intelligence and robotics in the community, there is a significant concern to govern the legal, ethical and technological aspects of artificial intelligence, as it may be open to misuse or unpredictability in its functions that may eventually be harmful (Yu et al., 2018). Workshops organized in 2017 and 2018 by Corinne Cath, Brent Mittelstadt, Sandra Wachter and Luciano Florin at both the oxford internet institution and the Alan Turing Institute on ethical auditing for accountable automated decision making; ethics and artificial intelligence: responsibility and governance; and explainable responsible algorithms,

Take a deeper dive into Video Modelling for ASD Intervention with our additional resources.

The primary focus of the workshop was to

Focus on ethical issues of artificial intelligence such as privacy, fairness, and transparency

Focus on interpretability and explain the ability of algorithms to increase accountability, integrity, and transparency

Emphasis on ethical auditing where algorithmic systems are too complicated, and accountability mechanisms cannot solely rely on the ability to interpret them

Legal regulations of artificial intelligence are open to debate across the globe by various governments, civil rights societies, lawyers, and multiple institutions. It is interesting to note that as many various institutions are fighting for the regulation of artificial intelligence, their participation and suggestions stand to question as their motivation is unclear. Another concern is the influence companies have over the development of artificial intelligence and the relationship between corporations and regulatory commissions. Concerns over availability, collection, and use of data, data security and privacy, trust, and support of artificial intelligence innovations among the population, provability, and bias are championing to further the creation of legislation by governments, courts, and social agencies (Bostrom & Yudkowsky, 2014).

2.4. Effectiveness of artificial intelligence and robotics in business

The increasing demand for robotics and artificial intelligence is evidence of the effectiveness and value of AI products for the customers. Moreover, fake intelligence concerns with the innovation and advancement in the outcomes for what the people nowadays are looking for. In this digital era, people are busy in their lives, and they want some promotion in their lives so that they can reduce the pressure on them (Davenpot &et. al. 2020). For this reason, artificial intelligence is a vital technique adopted by amazon to reduce the workload and attain accuracy in performing various tasks for their employees as well as customers. Amazon goes to an outlet that is a well-developed approach to the company that focuses on the multiple activities of the customers in the store. This is a useful tool that can manage a steady flow of customers within the store at any time. The software and artificial tools facilitate the employees as it is easy to scan the mobile phones of customers when they enter the store. Along with it, it can also record each activity, including picking up the products from the shelf, placing back and tracking where the customers end up shopping at the store, and much more. In this way, the workload of the employees reduces to a high level as they are not responsible for keeping an eye on customer's activities. However, it also reduces the possibility of a heist in the Amazon store that can lead to high customer trust and competitive advantage. It can be done only through the adoption of artificial intelligence as it can lead to more accuracy of robots and machines in comparison to a human being. Further, the robotic product of Amazon, such as Alexa, is very demanding nowadays due to its unique functions and services. It can effectively control the door locks, switches, light bulbs, and other appliances in an effective manner (Profis, 2019). It only requires a voice order to perform various tasks for its user. Also, it can play music at any time to entertain the user and can provide cooking tips and ideas if you asked for it. Moreover, Alexa can control your TV and phone calls at anytime from anywhere, and one just needs to do a voice order to Alexa. It is an improved technology which is very fast in performing a task, and one can save its time also as there is no need to go anywhere to turn on and off the TV, lights and much more. Therefore, it can be said that artificial intelligence has made people's life very easy and exciting. One can easily use the robotics products of Amazon and can make its life easy and more fascinating.

2.5. Issues associated with the use of robots and artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence offering several benefits to the people; however, it is also causing disadvantages to society to an extent too. Unemployment is an important issue that is faced by the community due to the high addiction of companies towards artificial intelligence and robotics (Bossmann, 2016). There is less physical work in companies due to the presence of robots. Amazon is also a well-established organization that contains several robots, and artificial intelligence provides a product that is reducing the need for employees. These robots can perform various manufacturing processes such as scanning of products, packaging, binding without any mistake that causes high dependability of the company on artificial intelligence. The human resource working in the company has to bear the loss as they have to leave their job, or they have to work for very fewer wages. These circumstances are increasing employment and poverty around the world. Machines are affecting the behavior and nature of the people as they are becoming dependent and do not wish to do their work on their own. Moreover, the artificial intelligence is changing the habits of people of doing hard work. In today's era, people are talking to machines and robots instead of human beings. They pay great attention to the devices for their various tasks and can't spend a single day without them (Duursma, 2017). It is evidence of the high dependability of people on robots and artificial intelligence, which is not suitable for society. Not only adults but also the kids are highly addicted to using robots such as Alexa to perform a task. In this way, the laziness among the kids and youth is increasing day by day, which can affect the health of users. The increasing use of artificial intelligence and robotics has limited the lives of the people due to the high dependency and laziness. Moreover, it can be said that artificial intelligence has created boundaries for the people who are regular users of the product and robots. People are not ready to leave their robots at their place even when they are going to some other place for fun. They want these products and robots over there to perform essential tasks and duties for themselves. Along with it, the people now days don't want to spend their time with their family, friends, and colleagues as they feel more entertainment and safe with their robots and technical product (Muler, 2016). However, it is awful for society to increase its dependability on artificial intelligence and robots as they are affecting people’s health as well as relationship.

3.0. Research Methodology

3.1. Research strategy

A research strategy for most of the studies is primarily based on the collection of data from primary as well as secondary sources. However, To determine the impact of artificial intelligence and robotics on the people, in-depth research will conduct by using secondary data only. The secondary source of data concerns the direct collection of data from a large number of research scholars. Moreover, it also focuses on the analysis process in which researchers keep a keen eye on various facts and assumptions given by the other writers for the study and note down every assumption of the previous researcher whose journals or books are used for the current research. The secondary data collection research strategy is an essential part of the research that helps to collect accurate information and results for the study. The secondary research strategy is highly based on real-time information, which is very helpful in attain coherent conclusions and outcomes. The research is based on amazon's case study, which uses a number of artificial intelligence products and robotics to perform various tasks. To conduct this research more effectively, a secondary research strategy will focus on the collection of information or data from secondary sources such as websites, articles, and journals. The secondary research strategy will provide valid assumptions and facts related to artificial intelligence and robotics products.

3.2. Research method

In order to ensure the success of the research, it is essential to consider the selection of a practical approach Research method that can lead to the achievement of goals and objectives for the current research. It is vital to focus on the most suitable way of data collection to fulfil the needs and requirements. This research is based on the qualitative approach of the research method that provides essential information form the secondary data. Moreover, the results obtained from the qualitative data are more descriptive and accurate in comparison to other research methods. This research method ensures the collection of vibrant and holistic data leads to the effectiveness of the research.

3.3. Methods of data collection

This research concerns the impact of artificial intelligence and robotics products on society. To gather the required data and information, the researcher will focus on secondary data collection. To collect the secondary data, the researcher will go through the books and journals along with a website that is focused on artificial intelligence and robotics. For this reason, a number of facts and assumptions of other research scholars are collected by the researcher to conduct the research. The essential information and data are gathered from various books and journals that can lead to the current research and its effectiveness. Moreover, it will focus on gaining vital information about the impact of artificial intelligence and robotics over the people. Also, a deep analysis will be conducted by the researcher in order to ensure the trustworthiness and reliability of the given facts and information. There are several books and journals are available online and offline, which provide essential information about the use and effectiveness of artificial intelligence and robotics. Also, a number of experimental tools such as a calculator and computers will be used to record collected information about the topic. The analysis of secondary data will be conduct by evaluating the accuracy of the research scholar's work and will correlate with the current study to meet the goals and objectives of the research.

3.4. Research ethics

Research ethics is a crucial part of the research, which is essential to be followed by the researcher to ensure that it may not harm anyone in terms of emotions, beliefs, and social matters. Also, it is vital for the researcher to conduct the research on truth in order to eliminate confusion and disconcerts. Along with it, the analysis requires collaboration and trust among the respondents; therefore, it is research responsibility to create a sense of accountability, trust, fairness, and mutual respect so that issues can be resolved. Moreover, the researcher is expected to introduce confidentiality policy while doing the surveys or interviews so that there may be privacy and confidentiality of each respondent for their views and opinions. Along with it, it is necessary for the researcher to take the permission of the research scholars while one is using their data and information for the secondary data collection method.

3.5. Research process

The research process is an essential aspect of research which requires effective planning in order to gain desire result and outcome from its study. Planning and scheduling are necessary for conducting the investigation with more efficiency as it eliminates the chances of mistakes and other issues while doing research. This has been done based on a proper timeline.

Chapter 4: Findings

This chapter presents the results obtained from the systematic review conducted in the previous section. Accordingly, in order to draw conclusions, the study involves the use of thematic analysis. Thus, themes and patterns have been drawn from the systematic review, which is then used for the interpretation of the study findings. Accordingly, based in the systematic review and the research questions formulated in the previous chapters three key themes are identified that include types of artificial intelligence and Robots being used by Amazon, jobs in which the artificial intelligence and robots are applied within Amazon and the impacts of using artificial intelligence and robots by the Amazon to the general economy. Finally, a summary of the key findings is illustrated.

4.1. Theme 1: Types of artificial intelligence and Robots being used by Amazon

It has been found that over the years, the use of AI and robots by e-commerce companies such as Amazon has been increasing. Increasingly, numbers of e-commerce companies like Amazon are identified to be extensively making use of AI and Robots for a variety of purposes. In this regard, one of the most commonly applied AI by Amazon is ascertained to be related to the Website based Chatbot, also known as Amazon Web Services (AWS) Chatbot. Accordingly, this Chatbot serves as an interactive agent, which makes it convenient for the user to interact with AWS resources and Amazon Chime chat rooms. Additionally, the AWS Chatbot is identified to be highly useful that allows the users to receive alerts as well as run commands. It has been further noted that AWS Chatbot offers several benefits. Notably, it has been observing that setting AWS Chatbot is relatively easy in Amazon Chime chat, which takes only a few minutes. Moreover, AWS Chatbot is ascertained to enable the user to issue commands using Slack channels, which is further found to facilitate increased collaboration and help the user to respond effectively (Amazon Web Services, Inc., 2020). Also, it has been found that Amazon also uses Amazon Lex, which is another form of Chatbot. This Chatbot involves creating conversational interfaces for the programs making use of text and voice. Interestingly, it has been found that Amazon Lex is also used to power Amazon Alexa. Accordingly, it has been found that the Amazon Lex offers users with functionality as well as greater flexibility in 'natural language understanding (NLU)' and 'automatic speech recognition (ASR)' that allows the users to create a highly rich user experience. In addition, the Amazon Lex also dynamically manages the responses and dialogue in the conversation and provides pre-built integration with other applications such as AWS Lambda, AWS Mobile Hub, and Amazon DynamoDB (Amazon Web Services, Inc., 2020). Amazon is further found to have introduced Augmented Reality (AR). Faust et al. (2012, p. 1164) AR are defined as "the superposition of virtual objects (computer-generated images, texts, sounds, etc.) on the real environment of the user." The use of AR provides customers to visualize the products sold online by Amazon using their smartphones. In this regard, the AR used by Amazon is identified to take advantage of Apple's ARKit (Perez, 2017). In addition, it has been found that Amazon is extensively involved in the use of robots in their business operations. Accordingly, it has been observed that Amazon has more than 200,000 mobile robots that are currently operating across different warehouses of Amazon, along with the human workforce. Accordingly, it has been found that Amazon has acquired a company Kiva Systems in 2012, which is mainly involved in the manufacturing of mobile robotics for its use in the warehouse. The name of the company was changed to Amazon Robotics after its acquisition (Shields, 2019). Notably, the acquisition of the company mark as the beginning of the use of robots by Amazon, and since then, the company has introduced different types of robots for performing different tasks and jobs.

For example, Amazon is identified to use 'Roomba shaped small robots, also known as 'Drives,' in their warehouse to carry large stacks of products in the warehouse. It has been found that this technology or robots used by Amazon in their warehouse are fully automated and are ascertained to be highly useful, which never get tired or make complain (Statt, 2019). In addition, Amazon is also identified to have introduced small robots that are used to pack hundreds of objects. In this regard, Amazon is ascertained to use this robot at its different warehouses to pack the products ordered by the customers (Hruska, 2019).

4.2. Theme 2: Jobs in which artificial intelligence and robots are applied within Amazon

It has been identified above that Amazon is involved in a wide variety of AI and robots in their operations for performing a wide range of tasks. Accordingly, the use of Chatbot by Amazon is found to have the potential to bring significant transformation. Amazon is identified to use Chatbot to provide 24*7 support services to its customers. Accordingly, it is increasingly used by Amazon to offer solutions to the problems faced by the customers. It has been found that Chatbot offers a more efficient way to solve the inquiries of the customers. At the same time, it has been identified that Amazon uses its Chatbot solution to recommend products and services to the users visiting its e-commerce websites. A Chatbot is used by Amazon to provide personalized conservation with online customers. At the same time, the Amazon Lex that involves 'natural language understanding (NLU)' and 'automatic speech recognition (ASR)' is used by Amazon to deliver personalized notifications to the customers as well as for interaction with the customer's Amazon Web Services, Inc., 2020). Additionally, the Chatbot is also increasingly used by Amazon to collect feedback from its customers, which has frequently enhanced the ability of Amazon to understand the needs of the customers and offer customized products to cater to the needs of its customers more effectively. Another critical AI technology that has been widely being used by Amazon is Augmented Reality (AR). Accordingly, it has been noted that AR is a useful tool that has been transforming e-commerce businesses such as Amazon. Therefore, AR is involved in enhancing the perception of the users or the customers by contextualizing objects or products with virtual complements so that the products and objectives are more appealing for the users. It has been found that Amazon is using AR mainly for the marketing of products that are offered by it to the customers. In this regard, it has been found that traditionally customers often experience challenges in making their purchase decision about the products and objects online. It is because the products sold online usually contain images, and it cannot be touch or feel by the customers. However, the application of AR by Amazon has now offered a more significant opportunity for the customers to visualize the products and thus help them to imagine how the products that they intend to purchase will feel (Perez, 2017) although it has been ascertained that the use of AR by Amazon is limited to specific markets. Its widespread application by the company is still limited. At the same time, it has been found that Amazon is increasingly using mobile robots for a variety of purposes. In this regard, it has been found that Amazon uses robots alongside human workers in the warehouse. Accordingly, it has noted that picking and graving activities are the typical jobs that are regularly performed in the warehouse. Mobile robots in Amazon are thus are identified to be extensively used for picking and grabbing the objects and products in the warehouse. At the same time, it has been found that mobile robots are also used by Amazon for moving pallets inventory in the warehouse that works in tandem with the human workers in the warehouse, which are also known as Palletizers.

Furthermore, Amazon even mobile robots such as the Robo-stow, which a type of robot with arm for lifting pallets of inventory and placing the stock on drive units in a different place within the warehouse. Also, it has been found that Amazon is also extensively using robots for wrapping and packing products and objects. It has been found that each packer used by Amazon in its order fulfillment center is capable of packing 600-700 orders every hour (Humphries, 2019).

4.3. Theme 3: Impacts of using artificial intelligence and robots by the Amazon

It has been found that the implementation of AI and robots by Amazon has a significant impact on its operation as well as performance. It has been found that the use of Chatbot by Amazon has a significant impact on Amazon's service and performance. In this regard, it has been found that the use of chatbots by Amazon has significantly facilitated the company to reach a larger audience. In addition, it has been found that the use of Chatbot by Amazon has helped Amazon to establish 24*7 communications with the target customers, which in turn has a dramatic impact on developing long term relationships with the target customers (Marous, 2020). The sue of Chatbot has offered Amazon with the ability to deliver personalized messages to target customers, which has helped the company to gain trust and confidence of the target customers and thereby increase the sales of the products and services offered by the company. At the same time, the feedback obtained from the customers through Chatbot has further helped Amazon to make gain more in-depth insight into the needs and preferences of the customers and offer products that best cater to their needs and expectations. This, in turn, has helped Amazon to deliver greater customer satisfaction while attaining a loyal base of customers (Walker, 2019). At the same time, the use of Augmented Reality (AR) by Amazon is also found to have a considerable impact on the operations and performance of Amazon. Accordingly, it has been found that the use of AR allows online customers to preview the products offered by Amazon and experience the product without actually touching or visiting the physical stores. Thus, the use of AR is found to have significantly increased the willingness of the consumer to purchase online over Amazon e-commerce websites. In other words, the use of AR has immensely contributed to enhancing the online sales of the company. Besides, it has been noted that Amazon is one of the few companies that have been using AR. Correspondingly, the use of this AI-based technology has further contributed to increasing the competitiveness of Amazon across different markets of its operations. Additionally, it has also been found that the use of AR has also resulted in a decline in the product return rate, which has been a significant issue for online retailers like Amazon (Perez, 2017). Also, it has been found earlier that Amazon has been increasingly involving in making use of robots in its warehouse. The use of robots is thus seen to have a massive impact on its operation and performance of Amazon. In this regard, it has been found that the use of robots in the warehouse has significantly contributed Amazon to improve its productivity. It is because the human workers in the warehouse are now able to handle more volume of inventory with the help of robots than they had been handling without the use of a robot by the company (Amazon.com, Inc., 2020). Moreover, human activities often result in errors that can negatively influence productivity. Still, with the use of robots, it has been able to reduce human errors significantly in the warehouse while ensuring more efficient performance. The most significant impact of the use of a robot by Amazon has been identified to be related to the reduction in the cost. Accordingly, the use of robots by Amazon has allowed the company to optimize the numbers of workers working in the company, which has significantly minimized the requirement of the workers in the workplace resulting in the reduction of cost. At the same time, another important impact of the use of robots in the Amazon is ascertained to be related to the increased in operational efficiency. For example, the use of robots for repetitive tasks such as packaging has significantly improved (Dastin, 2019; Humphries, 2019).

In the recent past, AI has been considered a future technology that would have a significant impact on businesses and the economy. However, it has been found that AI is not forthcoming; instead, it is here and is an application in increasing across different businesses and companies like Amazon. The use of AI and robots is viewed to be transforming the way Amazon operates. Companies such as Amazon are found to be witnessing dramatic changes by helping the company to perform a variety of tasks and jobs in a better and efficient way. More importantly, it is found that the growing use of AI and robots is empowering the Amazon business. Though it has been found that leveraging AI and robots for business use is not yet explored to their full potential and their applications are still in the early stage. Nonetheless, it has been found that Amazon has demonstrated its increasing interest in integrating AI and robots in its business strategy, and it is anticipated to have a considerable impact on the success and competitiveness of Amazon.

4.4. Summary

In summary, this chapter presented the study findings. Accordingly, thematic analysis has been used to draw conclusions based on which three key themes were identified, which were then interpreted to bring study findings. It has been found that over the last few years, Amazon has been extensively involved in incorporating new and advanced technologies. One of the major changes in Amazon has been related to the increasing use of AI and robots in its business. In this context, different types of AI and robots are identified to be used by Amazon, such as Chatbots such as AWS chatbots and Amazon Lex, Augmented Reality (AR), and mobile robots for picking and grabbing, and robots for packaging the products. It has been further found that Amazon has also introduced AR, which is used by the online customers to visualize the products offered by the company and make their purchase decision. On the other hand, robots are increasingly used alongside human workers for the transporting pallets in the warehouse, as well as wrapping and packing of goods at the fulfillment center. The use of AI and robots by Amazon is found to have a significant impact on Amazon. In this context, the use of AI and robot has significantly contributed to enhancing its efficiency and has also reduced the cost of operation. Moreover, it has also increased the ability of Amazon to improve the online shopping experience of its customers and rove their sales by encouraging them to purchased products online. Nonetheless, it has been noted that the use of AI and robots by Amazon is still in its early stage, and currently, it is not being used to its fullest potential. Correspondingly, it is vital for Amazon to demonstrate its willingness to embrace new and advanced technologies while exhibiting greater patience for using AI and robots to their fullest potential.

Chapter 5: Conclusion

The advent of globalization with an adequate pace in creativity and innovation has been radically transforming business efficiency. The continuous advance of technology, as well as flawless development of different types of information and communication technologies, have been playing a crucial role for organizations not only to increase productivity but also to pursue competitive growth and long-term sustainability. In the present day, embracing new or advanced technology in operations has become an essential part of the strategic measures of the organizations. From both product and service industries. More recently, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a mainstream tool in business operations has become a competitive mechanism for the organization. AI has the potential to excel efficiency level at the workplace drama, and it can also help the organization to augment activities that perform by a human. Moreover, AI also comprises wide-ranging benefits such as creativity as well as empathy that help organizations to obtain high leverage on production output. The implementation of AI has mostly become prevalent for organizations to maintain a high level of quality in manufacturing processes, and it also remarkably reduce the operational costs of the organization. Being the largest operator in the global e-commerce industry, Amazon can be considered as a pioneer in terms of leveraging a wide range of customer-centric innovations in its operations. The continuous advancement in technology and the effective use of AI enable Amazon to pursue the growth of its business performance efficiency to a new height. The innovation and implementation of advanced technological aspects help Amazon to redesign its workplace and operational processes with machine learning applications and AI. The company uses robotic technologies and AI systems that facilitate Amazon to achieve its underlying vision and business objectives successfully. In this research, the overall study has been conducted to determine the role of using AI, such as Alexa and packaging robots in Amazon, and analyze their significances that help Amazon to pursue growth and development. According to a critical investigation of the overall research work, it has been identified that Amazon extensively uses AI and robots across different operational levels in its workplaces. The study of information gathered from various external resources reveal that Amazon uses a web-based Chatbot, which is also called Amazon Web Services (AWS) Chatbot. The AI of using AWS facilitates Amazon to increase interaction between the workforce and to ensure that the internal operations are conducted with adequate guidelines and with expected quality parameters. Additionally, the findings of this research revealed that the design and production of Alexa is one of the most effective technologies that deliver adequate services to the end-users or clients. According to the result, it can be said that users can run and alert commands using Alexa, which is the most notable technological advancement that helps Amazon to reduce possible errors in its operations along with increasing productivity and quality.

When determining the impact of using AI and robots in operations, it has been identified from the research that Amazon has been extensively pursuing significant advantages from its own AI and robots across different operational levels. Moreover, the use of AI also helps the company to reach across a large number of potential audiences. Nevertheless, using AI in interaction and communication processes also helps the company to establish a flawless process of sharing information or data services to a large group of customers. Nevertheless, the method also enables Amazon to create and retain a relationship with the clients by meeting their changing needs and expectations towards the technology. From a critical assessment of relevant information and data gathered from secondary sources, it has been found that Amazon uses Alexa to manage operations across different levels of the organization efficiently. From the assessment, it has been found that Alexa uses a cognitive-communication mechanism that enables the company to store data irrespective of size. Moreover, the robotic mechanism with high end AI contained in Alexa helps Amazon to predict the most effective operational design and to make decisions relating to various strategic, managing, and operational activities. Therefore, it is evident that the use of AI and mechanical robots has been playing a critical role for Amazon to leverage efficiency in its range of business activities. Nevertheless, the process of using AI and robotic systems also facilitates the company to improve its productivity level, along with maintaining the desired level of quality. In this research, the overall study is strongly focused on maintaining adequate concern on meeting the underlying aim and objectives using valid and relevant data. Therefore, the use of secondary sources such as academic journals, books, and the organizational report has provided significant support to determine the role and significance of using AI and robotic technology at Amazon. Additionally, a critical review of the literature also offered substantial support to gather facts associated with the chosen subject area and research problem. When talking about the methodological part, the research has been conducted thematic analysis helped to understand the research problem and to determine facts associated with them critically. Besides, the study also conducts a case-study analysis related to the primary research aim also helped the research to find relevant facts about different aspects of using AI and robots in various operations at Amazon.

Therefore, concerning the overall process and methodology implemented in the research, it can be concluded that the use of AI and robot across different functions made Amazon pursue spontaneous growth in terms of production and customer service-related activities. Additionally, the process of including AI in strategic processes provides a significant opportunity for Amazon to make sound decisions on its range of project management activities. However, the company has also been identified to effectively deal with issues associated with the negative implications of using AI and robots in business operations. Concerning the problem emerged in the context of employment, the company's enduring performance in providing a large number of job opportunities across different developed and developing economies substantially undermine allegation against the company. Therefore, the evaluation of the significance and impacts of using AI in organizational processes has delivered a clear perception that the way of exploiting modern technology can drive potential growth and sustainable opportunities for organizations.

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