История
июль 14, 2026
Amazon Shuts Down Internal AI Leaderboard to Discourage 'Tokenmaxxing'
Amazon has shut down an internal leaderboard, reportedly called 'KiroRank,' that ranked employees based on their AI tool usage. Executives made the decision to discourage staff from using AI for unnecessary tasks simply to increase their scores, a practice known as 'tokenmaxxing' that was driving up computing costs.
Amazon has dismantled an internal AI-usage leaderboard after realizing it was encouraging employees to rack up chatbot activity for bragging rights rather than business value, exposing the tension between rapid AI adoption and cost control inside big tech.
Early enthusiasm and the rise of “tokenmaxxing”
In early 2026, Amazon employees created an internal dashboard known as “KiroRank” that ranked staff by how many AI tokens they consumed using internal tools and agents.1 The informal leaderboard quickly became a status metric, with some workers assigning autonomous AI agents to perform “needless tasks” simply to climb the rankings, according to reporting relayed to staff.2
As usage soared, so did computing costs. The practice, dubbed “tokenmaxxing” — measuring productivity by sheer AI volume — mirrored a broader Silicon Valley trend in which companies chased AI metrics without clear returns.1
Executive intervention and shutdown
By late May, senior executive Dave Treadwell stepped in, telling employees: “Don’t use AI just for the sake of using AI.”2 He urged teams instead to “use AI to help you solve customer problems, to help you solve business problems, to innovate.”1
Following his remarks, Amazon confirmed that KiroRank had been “deprecated,” stressing it was an employee-built tool that “was never intended to promote the use of AI for usage’s sake.”1 The Financial Times reported that the move was designed to “stop workers chasing usage scores” as AI expenses rose.3
New focus: efficiency over volume
Amazon now says its priority is encouraging AI use where it demonstrably improves innovation and operational efficiency, not merely inflating token counts.1 Teams retain freedom to decide how to use and track AI, but the company emphasizes cost-aware deployment amid a maturing view of enterprise AI.
1. Business Insider — "Amazon says it shut down a token leaderboard: 'Don't use AI just to use AI'"
2. The Verge — "Don't use AI just for the sake of using AI."
3. Financial Times — "Amazon scraps AI leaderboard to stop workers chasing usage scores"