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Engineering Productivity

2 GoKawiil briefs on this topic

Amazon tells engineers to stop chasing AI token counts, measure outcomes instead

Amazon has updated its internal engineering guidelines to discourage 'tokenmaxxing,' the practice of inflating AI tool usage to look productive on dashboards. The company says it won't treat AI adoption, token consumption or code volume as performance metrics, and will instead evaluate teams on long-term delivery outcomes. Amazon previously shut down an internal leaderboard in May after employees gamed AI usage rankings, though it says it has not capped token use.

Engineering Leader Argues Team Culture Beats AI Tools for Productivity

A veteran engineering manager with over 13 years in the industry argues that the tech world's obsession with AI tools is overshadowing a more fundamental driver of productivity: workplace culture. Drawing on personal experience with both toxic and healthy team environments, the author contends that AI adoption alone cannot fix dysfunction like interdepartmental blame or poor collaboration. The piece warns against narratives suggesting fewer engineers are needed simply because AI makes building software easier.