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Americans take for granted that most things they buy online will arrive on their doorstep two days after they clicked the order button. When Amazon introduced two-day shipping¹, it was a huge shift in retail² thinking. To stay competitive, most major stores now offer similar speedy delivery. But getting you that package in just two days - or in some cases in just one hour - is extremely expensive. NPR's Alina Selyukh got a rare look at how Amazon makes it work.

ALINA SELYUKH, BYLINE³: By the time someone clicks buy on Amazon, usually Jenny Freshwater had long predicted it.

JENNY FRESHWATER: In advance of them even knowing they want the product, in many cases.

SELYUKH: Her team's job is to anticipate demand for every single thing sold by Amazon in the world - not just how many blouses should Amazon sell but what color, size, sleeve length and most importantly...

FRESHWATER: Where do we actually put the product so that our customers can get it when they click buy?

SELYUKH: This is key to how Amazon cuts down delivery time, by stocking items as close as possible to the people who will buy them. That's why Amazon has been building smaller warehouses⁵ closer to city centers, where delivery might be within hours. And we should note, Amazon is one of NPR's sponsors.

FRESHWATER: We've started to build these AI algorithms, and the more we build, the better they get.

SELYUKH: AI algorithms, as in artificial intelligence, as in computers analyzing⁶ massive amounts of data. For example, AI knows that new doesn't always mean more sales. Like, with tax software, sure it does. Everyone wants the latest version. But a new DSLR camera actually creates more demand for the older version, which is cheaper. AI also knows that people often abandon their online grocery cart if bananas are sold out. And think about sunscreen. AI found many surges in the winter and spring.

FRESHWATER: Right around the holidays and then again when schools typically have spring breaks.

SELYUKH: Both AI and forecasting are not unique to Amazon. All retail stores work hard to plan for the future, and all major ones have their own algorithms and automated⁷ warehouses and delivery tricks. But it was Amazon Prime that got Americans hooked on two-day shipping. Now it's a race for a one-hour delivery with Amazon Prime Now. Few companies can afford that, and few rely quite so much on AI to control costs while growing.

CEM SIBAY: Really, AI is an underpinner technology for almost the entire Prime experience.

SELYUKH: Cem Sibay is an executive at Prime whose promise of free two-day shipping is the main reason millions of Americans shell out $119 a year for membership. Sibay and other Amazon executives push this illusion that fast delivery is magic. Like, the code name for Prime Now was Houdini. But the reality is forecasting on steroids and a meticulous⁸ shaving off of minutes and seconds on the journey of the package.

SIBAY: A lot of it is sort of end-to-end control of the experience as well.

SELYUKH: As in, Amazon has control of the entire process from the website to the warehouses to the actual delivery to your doorstep. In corporate⁹ lingo¹⁰, that's first mile, middle mile and last mile. AI is woven through it all. In the first mile, when you order, AI analyzes¹¹ your search and tells you upfront how fast your item could ship. In the warehouse⁴ - that's the middle mile - AI powers the Kiva robots. They look like large Roombas carrying yellow shelving units. In traditional warehouses, it's the people who walk to the shelves. Here, it's the robots that bring the shelves to people. The machines know what to bring and when to get each order packed in time for delivery. It's AI keeping track of all items in almost a million square feet of this warehouse. AI constantly arranges those shelves so that things you're about to buy are ready to go.

BRAD PORTER: There's a mix of industrial automation, manual processes and more sophisticated robotics.

SELYUKH: Brad Porter is the head of robotics for Amazon operations. This is controversial work in retail, where layoffs¹² are rampant¹³ just as automation reshapes the workforce¹⁴. Economists¹⁵ are divided on how much exactly AI will eliminate or create jobs, especially for lower-income Americans. In its defense¹⁶, Amazon often points to how much it's actually been hiring. To Porter, we are in the latest chapter of industrialization.

PORTER: Industrial automation and robotics are here. They've been here for a long time.

SELYUKH: One area where AI has created a new type of job is in deliveries in the last mile. In busy cities, Amazon has to pull out all the stops. The company took a page from Uber and now hires drivers for side gigs, making superfast deliveries that pay as much as $25 an hour. AI fuels this. It matches package size to car size and even recommends what package to put in last. Sibay says when you're in a one-hour race, every minute counts. So AI's timing¹⁷ estimates consider traffic and building entry codes, and it learns from its mistakes.

SIBAY: The driver forgets his key at reception and has to walk a little bit longer. The driver is delivering a package, and it's an elderly lady. And they, you know, talk a little bit.

SELYUKH: It's hard for AI to predict all these scenarios¹⁸, he says. But next time, maybe the address with a chatty Cathy will get a few more minutes baked into the algorithm.

Alina Selyukh, NPR News, Seattle.

(SOUNDBITE OF DECEPTIKON'S "INACCESSIBILITY")

1 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

2 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

5 warehouses   

仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。

6 analyzing   

v.分析；分析( analyze的现在分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析n.分析

参考例句：

• Analyzing the date of some socialist countries presents even greater problem s. 分析某些社会主义国家的统计数据，暴露出的问题甚至更大。 来自辞典例句
• He undoubtedly was not far off the mark in analyzing its predictions. 当然，他对其预测所作的分析倒也八九不离十。 来自辞典例句

7 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。

8 meticulous   

adj.极其仔细的，一丝不苟的

参考例句：

• We'll have to handle the matter with meticulous care.这事一点不能含糊。
• She is meticulous in her presentation of facts.她介绍事实十分详细。

9 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

10 lingo   

n.语言不知所云，外国话，隐语

参考例句：

• If you live abroad it helps to know the local lingo.住在国外，学一点当地的语言自有好处。
• Don't use all that technical lingo try and explain in plain English.别尽用那种专门术语，用普通的词语解释吧。

11 analyzes   

v.分析( analyze的第三人称单数 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• This approach analyzes management by studying experience usually through cases. 这个学派通常从实例获得经验，用以分析管理。 来自辞典例句
• The econometrician analyzes statistical data. 经济计量学者要分析统计材料。 来自辞典例句

12 layoffs   

临时解雇( layoff的名词复数 )； 停工，停止活动

参考例句：

• Textile companies announced 2000 fresh layoffs last week. 各纺织公司上周宣布再次裁员两千人。
• Stock prices broke when the firm suddenly announced layoffs. 当公司突然宣布裁员时，股票价格便大跌

13 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

14 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

15 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

17 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

18 scenarios   

n.[意]情节；剧本；事态；脚本

参考例句：

• Further, graphite cores may be safer than non-graphite cores under some accident scenarios. 再者，根据一些事故解说，石墨堆芯可比非石墨堆芯更安全一些。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• Again, scenarios should make it clear which modes are acceptable to users in various contexts. 同样，我们可以运用场景剧本来搞清楚在不同情境下哪些模式可被用户接受。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓