• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

I wrote that Boomers were choking America’s economy. Their responses to me were revealing

2

U.S. says deals with Iran for safe Hormuz transit are prohibited

3

After a judge ordered Trump's name be removed from the Kennedy Center, president says it will 'soon be closed, probably never to open again'

1

I wrote that Boomers were choking America’s economy. Their responses to me were revealing

2

U.S. says deals with Iran for safe Hormuz transit are prohibited

3

After a judge ordered Trump's name be removed from the Kennedy Center, president says it will 'soon be closed, probably never to open again'
AIAmazon

‘Proceed with caution’: Elon Musk offers warning after Amazon reportedly had mandatory meeting to address ‘high blast radius’ and AI-related incidents

Sasha Rogelberg
By
Sasha Rogelberg
Sasha Rogelberg
Reporter
Down Arrow Button Icon
Sasha Rogelberg
By
Sasha Rogelberg
Sasha Rogelberg
Reporter
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 11, 2026, 3:49 PM ET
Elon Musk looks down with one hand pressed to his mouth.
Elon Musk responded "Proceed with caution" in response to reports Amazon held a meeting regarding AI-related outages.Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg—Getty Images

Elon Musk has weighed in on reports Amazon is addressing recent outages, including one related to AI-assisted coding.

Recommended Video

The e-commerce giant held a mandatory meeting on Tuesday for a “deep dive” into multiple outages, including some as a result of the use of AI coding features, the Financial Times reported, citing internal briefs and emails. According to the outlet, Amazon said there was a “trend of incidents” in the past few months with a “high blast radius” and relating to “Gen-AI assisted changes,” as well as other variables.

Earlier this month, Amazon’s website and shopping app were down for some users, with more than 22,000 users reporting an issue, according to outage tracker Downdetector. Customers were unable to check out, view prices for goods, or access their account information. At the time, Amazon said the outage was a result of “a software code deployment.”

The report of the meeting drew the attention of tech experts, including Musk, who made his comments public when he responded to a post from Lukasz Olejnik, a cybersecurity consultant and visiting senior research fellow at Department of War Studies, King’s College London.

“Amazon is holding a mandatory meeting about AI breaking its systems,” Olejnik wrote.

“Proceed with caution,” Musk replied. 

Dave Treadwell, Amazon’s senior vice president of e-commerce services, reportedly wrote in an email that the team’s weekly “This Week in Stores Tech” (TWiST) meeting would in part be used to implement additional guardrails on how AI is used by engineers, including requiring more senior engineers to sign off of AI-assisted changes made by junior and mid-level engineers.

“Folks, as you likely know, the availability of the site and related infrastructure has not been good recently,” Treadwell wrote in an internal email, the FT reported.

An Amazon spokesperson told Fortune that the TWiST meeting is a regular weekly operations meeting with a group of retail technology teams and leaders to review operational performance.

“As part of normal business, the meeting will include a review of the availability of our website and app as we focus on continual improvement,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

The company confirmed Amazon Web Services (AWS) was not involved in the incidents. Amazon said only one incident discussed was related to AI, but none involved AI-written code. Junior and mid-level engineers are also not required to have senior engineers sign off on AI-assisted changes, according to the company.

The risks of rapid AI deployment

The outages and subsequent meeting has raised concerns from cybersecurity experts about risks associated with the rapid rollout of AI tools. Features like Amazon’s AI assistant Q can speed up the coding process, producing more code faster, but it may come at the risk of disrupting systems for how that code is written, checked, and deployed, making platforms more susceptible to outages, Olejnik told Fortune.

“I’m not making an argument against deployment of AI,” he said. “There isn’t any. It can’t be stopped. Everybody is going to deploy AI. It’s an argument against speed for its own sake or using AI for the sake of using AI.”

Late last year, Amazon began the process of laying off thousands of workers, citing desires to become more efficient and align the company culturally. Those layoffs have continued into this year, with the company reducing staff by a further 16,000 in January. Meanwhile, Amazon has continued pouring money into AI, projecting $200 billion in capex in 2026, an increase from $131 billion in 2025.

Musk, for his part, has previously said AI will bypass coding completely by the end of 2026.

Olejnik warned the transition from human-centered coding to AI-run systems too quickly could result in missing safety checks resulting in prolonged downtime or data loss that could result in “blowing up” a business due to irresponsible AI deployment.

When asked, he said he saw eye-to-eye with Musk regarding the level of attention AI deployment in tech should require.

“I agree with him,” Olejnik said. “AI brings a lot of opportunities, but there’s a middle ground between going to obsolescence due to not using AI, and blowing up businesses due to ill-judged deployments.”

In 2001, Fortune first convened the smartest people we know, bringing together CEOs and founders, builders and investors, thinkers and doers. Since then, Fortune Brainstorm Tech has been the place where bold ideas collide. From June 8–10, we will return to Aspen—where it all began—to mark 25 years of Brainstorm. Register now.
About the Author
Sasha Rogelberg
By Sasha RogelbergReporter
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Sasha Rogelberg is a reporter and former editorial fellow on the news desk at Fortune, covering retail and the intersection of business and popular culture.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in AI

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in AI

Data centers could help determine who wins the next war, and a shortage of compute would be ‘catastrophic,’ retired general says
AIMilitary
Data centers could help determine who wins the next war, and a shortage of compute would be ‘catastrophic,’ retired general says
By Jason MaMay 31, 2026
54 minutes ago
AI will make the ‘tech bro’ class even richer, Nobel laureate Joe Stiglitz says, just as it can take your job
AIJobs
AI will make the ‘tech bro’ class even richer, Nobel laureate Joe Stiglitz says, just as it can take your job
By Catherina GioinoMay 31, 2026
4 hours ago
peter thiel
AIskills
Forget the STEM safety net. Peter Thiel warns AI is a bigger threat to technical roles than to creative thinkers
By Jake AngeloMay 31, 2026
4 hours ago
CEOs blame AI for layoffs, but an MIT professor says it fits a long-running pattern to find a cover story. ‘They’ve been saying that for 20 years’
AIthe future of work
CEOs blame AI for layoffs, but an MIT professor says it fits a long-running pattern to find a cover story. ‘They’ve been saying that for 20 years’
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezMay 31, 2026
5 hours ago
Special operations commander says while AI could determine targets, humans must be sure ‘it’s going to deliver violence only where we intend it’
AIMilitary
Special operations commander says while AI could determine targets, humans must be sure ‘it’s going to deliver violence only where we intend it’
By Konstantin Toropin and The Associated PressMay 31, 2026
6 hours ago
Samsung’s UK boss keeps a signed $100 bill she’s never allowed to spend—and shares her best and worst investments
SuccessFortune The Good Life
Samsung’s UK boss keeps a signed $100 bill she’s never allowed to spend—and shares her best and worst investments
By Orianna Rosa RoyleMay 31, 2026
11 hours ago

Most Popular

I wrote that Boomers were choking America’s economy. Their responses to me were revealing
Personal Finance
I wrote that Boomers were choking America’s economy. Their responses to me were revealing
By Nick LichtenbergMay 31, 2026
10 hours ago
U.S. says deals with Iran for safe Hormuz transit are prohibited
Politics
U.S. says deals with Iran for safe Hormuz transit are prohibited
By Jack Wittels and BloombergMay 30, 2026
1 day ago
After a judge ordered Trump's name be removed from the Kennedy Center, president says it will 'soon be closed, probably never to open again'
Law
After a judge ordered Trump's name be removed from the Kennedy Center, president says it will 'soon be closed, probably never to open again'
By Collin Binkley and The Associated PressMay 30, 2026
24 hours ago
After Blue Origin rocket explosion, NASA's entire moon exploration program depends on SpaceX for now as Musk eyes blockbuster IPO soon
Innovation
After Blue Origin rocket explosion, NASA's entire moon exploration program depends on SpaceX for now as Musk eyes blockbuster IPO soon
By Jason MaMay 30, 2026
1 day ago
Surging Treasury yields expose a brutal truth: America has no margin for error on its $39 trillion debt
Economy
Surging Treasury yields expose a brutal truth: America has no margin for error on its $39 trillion debt
By Shawn TullyMay 30, 2026
2 days ago
Ex–Google CEO Eric Schmidt warns U.S. tech workers: Competing with China’s grueling 12-hour workdays means sacrificing work-life balance
Future of Work
Ex–Google CEO Eric Schmidt warns U.S. tech workers: Competing with China’s grueling 12-hour workdays means sacrificing work-life balance
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezMay 30, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.