Amazon.com Inc. is secretive about sharing what happens inside the fulfillment centers that our smiling packages come from. But like how its Amazon Web Services Inc. has given glimpses into the technologies that enable its cloud services, the new re:MARS show (for machine Learning, automation, robotics and space) last week gave a peek behind the curtain of the drivers of Amazon’s technology.

Jeff Wilke, chief executive of Amazon Worldwide Consumer — basically everything that isn’t under AWS CEO Andy Jassy but not including Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ own Blue Origin space company — highlighted that artificial intelligence and machine learning are a foundational layer for the consumer business, and much of this technology comes from AWS offerings. We also got a close look at how the latest in robotics such as Amazon’s new Prime Air drone that Wilke showed off (pictured), AI and space that’s being leveraged by hyperscale companies such as Amazon will affect enterprise organizations and their workforces.

Since 2012, Amazon has deployed 200,000 robots in its fulfillment centers; during the same time, it has hired 300,000 people. Wilke said he is a fan of Erik Brynjolfsson of MIT, who wrote “Racing with the Machines” with Andy McAfee, which states that the successful companies in the future will have found ways to capitalize on machines and people working closely together.

Understandably, people still feel a bit of existential dread that robots and AI will take their jobs or attack us a la “Terminator” or “Black Mirror.” It can be a little unnerving to see the robot Spot from Boston Dynamics coming toward you:

Kate Darling from the MIT Media Lab said it’s natural for us to anthropomorphize robots, but that can complicate our feelings as they come into the workplace. Her recommendation is that we should compare robots and AI with animals, which we have used for work, weaponry and companionship for millennia. Today we treat most animals like tools and products, and some as companions; robots should be the same, she contends.

In another talk, AI pioneer Andrew Ng (below), now CEO of Landing AI, which is aiming to “transform enterprises with AI,” said the role of AI and machine learning is to automate tasks, not jobs. He highlighted that although data and compute originally drove AI, it is now driven by talent, ideas and tools.

Like the software robots of robotic process automation, physical robots can help with the reliability of tasks that are repetitive, dangerous or boring. Not every company will need physical robots, but AWS created Deep Racer to help make learning the skills of ML fun (see video below with Jassy discussing Deep Racer). AI, machine learning and robots can deliver speed and scale that humans cannot do on their own.

One of the big trends over the last 10 years has been the democratization of technologies that in the past only countries or the largest global companies could leverage. Cloud computing is one of the platforms for the availability of technology.

Last year, AWS Ground Station was announced to simplify satellite communication. At re:MARS, the technology presentations were not about far-off futures but what can be done today or very soon. The mission of Blue Origin is to have millions of people living and working in space. Reusable rockets and resources in space are the primary hurdles that they see.

One presentation from Lockheed Martin showed its SPACECLOUD technology, which will leverage multilevel satellites, enabling gigabit-scale communications. Lockheed said the satellites will be about more than communication, however, offering compute, storage and basic processing bring a whole new dimension to edge computing.

While the conference did a good job of showing some amazing things that are possible, it was very grounded about where we are and the work still to be done. There are many technologies in which consumers and corporations can find value today, and many startups and large initiatives that are hiring.

Many people have concerns about Amazon’s tremendous market power, and using AWS will increase this market position. But at the same time, AWS allows organizations to leverage many of the underlying technologies enabling the speed and scale that make Amazon successful today.

 Photos: Robert Hof/SiliconANGLE