Quoting Terk Terkowitz
- ID
- 40315
- Status
- summarized
- Published
- 28 Oct 2026, 6:09 PM
- Fetched
- 28 Oct 2026, 6:36 PM
- Provider
- Simon Willison
- Category
- developer-ai
- Original URL
- https://simonwillison.net/2026/Oct/28/terk-terkowitz/
- Source URL
- https://simonwillison.net/atom/everything/
Summary
- Score
- 4.5
- Created
- 28 Oct 2026, 6:36 PM
- Tags
- Audience
- developersvibe_codersai_ml_learners
What happened
Simon Willison's blog republishes a short quote from Terk Terkowitz, attributed to a post titled "An update from Amazon engineering leadership on the role of the developer in the age of AI." The quote argues that if current AI tooling doesn't benefit your work, "that is a finding, not a failing" — engineers should document why, share it with peers, take it to their manager, and look for solutions. The item is a quotation only: no data, no policy details, no description of what Amazon actually changed.
Why it matters
The practical takeaway is a framing change: 'this AI tool doesn't help my workflow' is now something to write down and defend with specifics, not something to keep quiet about. If you're rolling out agents or copilots across a team, expect (and ask for) written evidence of where they don't pay off — but note this text gives no numbers, tooling names, or policy detail from Amazon, so treat it as a stance, not a mandate.
Discussion angle
What does a credible 'AI doesn't help here' write-up actually contain — tasks measured, time before/after, failure modes — so it reads as judgement rather than resistance?