Netflix expects employees across the company to develop an “aspiration for AI fluency” as the technology reshapes how work gets done, a top executive said.
Elizabeth Stone, Netflix’s chief product and technology officer, said on an episode of “Lenny’s Podcast” released Sunday that the streaming giant is encouraging all employees — from new hires to senior executives — to become more comfortable using AI.
“The way we’ve approached this so far is instead of trying to articulate at each level exactly how AI changes those expectations, to instead put an overlay across all of the talent at Netflix, people on the team, and those who are hiring, to talk about an aspiration for AI fluency,” she said.
Stone told podcast host Lenny Rachitsky that expectations will vary depending on an employee’s role and career stage.
“The most useful thing is not to make it level specific or role specific, but to encourage everyone towards the expectation on AI fluency,” Stone said.
Stone said AI fluency, which she acknowledged is “a tough thing to define,” isn’t about using the technology for the sake of using it. Instead, she said it means understanding where the technology is useful, exercising “good judgment,” and keeping an open mind to “explore and try new things.”
“That’s the non-negotiable for all roles, and that’s true at the senior-most levels of Netflix, where we talk about we too need to have deep fluency in AI, even if we’re not writing code as part of our day jobs,” she said.
The emphasis on AI fluency has also changed Netflix’s hiring practices, Stone said, explaining that the company discusses AI during interviews to understand how job seekers think about the tech and how they use AI tools in their day-to-day lives.
Despite growing concerns that AI could reduce demand for entry-level workers across the job sector, Stone said junior talent remains a “critical part” of Netflix’s hiring strategy.
“We are still hiring junior people, and they’re really important to our talent strategy,” Stone said, pointing to the company’s intern and new graduate programs.
She added that younger employees can be more open-minded, more comfortable with emerging AI technologies, and more attuned to how entertainment is changing.
“I can guarantee you that earlier career talent is going to be teaching older folks like me many new things, too,” Stone told Rachitsky.
