Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon: “When I interview a candidate, I ask for an example of something they’ve invented”

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has offered his vision for the future of work in a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence. Speaking at Italian Tech Week 2025 in Turin, the billionaire entrepreneur said AI will never replace people who can create and imagine.

Bezos argued that invention is the driving force behind innovation and the foundation of every major technological leap. Progress, he said, depends on those willing to think differently and build solutions that don’t yet exist. That mindset, he noted, was critical to Amazon’s rise and to the development of his aerospace company, Blue Origin.

Jeff Bezos’ Lessons from a Texas ranch

During his talk, Bezos reflected on summers spent with his grandfather on a ranch in Texas, where the two once repaired a bulldozer on their own. To finish the job, they even built a makeshift crane from scratch.

“That experience taught me the value of practical inventiveness and solving problems with ingenuity,” he said. Bezos described himself as a natural inventor and said he looks for the same trait in job candidates. “Whenever I interview someone, I ask them to give me an example of something they’ve invented.”

Innovation the best defense against competition

Bezos also emphasized that innovation is the best defense against competition. “I’m more afraid of two young people in a garage than the competitors I already know,” he joked, referencing the origins of companies like Google and Apple.

That spirit still defines Amazon today. According to Bezos, people who don’t enjoy exploring new ideas or taking risks rarely last long at the company.

He also said the rise of artificial intelligence is changing how companies evaluate talent. Current Amazon CEO Andy Jassy shares that view: “Knowledge can be acquired, but the willingness to learn and reinvent yourself has to come from within.”

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