Earlier this week, Amazon launched Amazon Web Services (AWS) BugBust, an international challenge that calls on developers to locate and fix one million software bugs, realizing $100 million in technical debt. Developers from across the world can join the challenge hosted by Amazon by creating BugBust events for their organization using an artificial intelligence-driven platform called CodeGuru. Individuals can compete for prizes on a leaderboard by identifying and fixing bugs in codebases and apps. Amazon’s CTO Werner Vogels stated that the challenge makes bug fixing a bit of a game, however, the ultimate goal of the program is to eliminate performance issues and squash bugs.
Amazon stated that the pandemic gave rise to software failures that otherwise may not have occurred. This was largely sparked by the shift to fully remote activities, such as remote learning, online exams, and work-from-home requirements, pushing a huge influx of users online and applying pressure to software ill-prepared to handle the high volume. An Asana survey found that nearly two-thirds of knowledge workers have increased their use of collaboration tools since the beginning of the pandemic. Amazon also asserts that there is a shortage of developer talent, and it’s estimated that just 2% of the world’s population knows how to develop software.
Read More: Amazon launches AWS BugBust to spur adoption of AI-powered coding tools
