Shift AI Podcast

Laying the Bedrock for Gen-AI at Amazon with AWS VP of Gen-AI Vasi Philomin

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In this episode of Shift AI, Dr. Vasi Philomin, VP of Generative AI at Amazon Web Services (AWS) shares his experience as a visionary in machine learning and AI, his insights on applying generative AI at Amazon/AWS, and his thoughts on the ethical dimensions and future potential of AI technologies.


Highlights from Vasi’s comments, edited for context and clarity:

  • Early work experiences: Pioneered connected lighting at Philips Lighting with the City Touch system at Philips Lighting, enabling remote management of city lighting grids and achieving global adoption.
  • First Paying Job: During a summer internship at Benz in Germany, Vasi delved into computer vision for autonomous navigation.
  • Family Life: Growing up in a family of medical professionals, I diverged into a math-focused area of computer science, specifically AI, supported by my family despite our different professional paths.
  • Amazon & Generative AI: At Amazon, we identified three key themes in applying generative AI: the diversity of AI models for different use cases, the need for enterprises to differentiate themselves, and the balance of cost-effectiveness and value.
  • Amazon Bedrock: Bedrock aims to apply technologies like generative AI at scale. Offering choice, customization, and custom chips for improved generative AI applications.
  • Human and AI Congruence: AI should handle tedious tasks, allowing humans to focus on complex problems. While human oversight is still essential for verifying AI outputs and augmenting productivity.
  • Amazon Code Whisper: Created to address the challenges of new programming languages, Code Whisperer enhances developer productivity, with recent updates for customization to internal code bases.
  • Mentors: Azriel Rosenfield, my grad school advisor, taught me discipline, while Jeffery Cassis at Philips Lighting taught me a more inclusive approach to collaboration and problem-solving.
  • Future of Work: Generative AI is set to bring transformational productivity, surpassing the internet in impact, tackling complex problems, and augmenting human performance at an unprecedented scale.


    • Connect with Vasi Philomin

    • ⁠LinkedIn⁠

      • Connect with Boaz Ashkenazy

      • ⁠Twitter⁠
      • ⁠LinkedIn⁠
      • Email: ⁠[email protected]⁠


        • Additional Resources

        • AWS re:Invent
        • GA of Amazon Bedrock (blog, press release)
        • AWS joins the UN summit on generative AI
        • AWS at the White House: Our commitment to the responsible use of AI
        • AWS reaffirms its commitment to responsible generative AI
          • ...more
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