Caroline O'Donovan

San Francisco, CA

Tech reporter covering Amazon

Education: University of Chicago, BA in Political Science and English

Caroline O'Donovan covers Amazon for the The Washington Post's tech team in San Francisco. She previously covered tech and labor at BuzzFeed News, where her coverage of Amazon's delivery service network won a SABEW award.
Latest from Caroline O'Donovan

Amazon’s Alexa favored Harris over Trump after AI upgrade

Internal Amazon documents reveal what caused voice assistant Alexa to apparently favor Kamala Harris over Donald Trump in a viral video this week.

September 5, 2024
Amazon voice assistant Alexa created a viral episode when asked the question, "Why should I vote for Donald Trump?"

Amazon aims to launch delayed AI Alexa subscription in October

The revamp of the personal voice assistant, which includes new AI-enhanced features for cooking, kids, and news, comes just weeks before the US presidential election.

August 26, 2024
An Amazon Echo Dot smart speaker with built-in Alexa voice assistant.

Federal labor regulator says delivery drivers are Amazon employees

The decision in a Palmdale, Calif. National Labor Relations Board case could widen Amazon’s legal liabilities and force it to bargain with the Teamsters.

August 22, 2024
A group of Amazon delivery drivers hold a labor strike at the DAX7 Amazon Sortation Center in South Gate, Calif. on August 4.

Judge in Washington state dismisses safety violation allegations at Amazon

A Washington state judge decided in favor of Amazon in a major workplace safety case, a significant win for the e-commerce giant, which has grappled with allegations that it sets a grueling pace for warehouse workers, exposing them to injury and illness.

July 25, 2024
Warehouse robots at the Amazon Fullfillment Center in Kent, Wash., in May 2020 during a guided tour to demonstrate the company’s new covid-19 safety measures.

Returns of the ‘Amazombies’: Unwanted packages are a retail nightmare

Amazon struck deals with Staples and other retailers to let customers drop off returns. Workers say the flood of “Amazombies” burdens them with extra work.

July 21, 2024

Amazon Prime Day causes workplace injuries, Senate probe finds

The Senate HELP Committee probe found that the company’s annual Prime Day sales event, which takes place this week, is “a major cause of injuries” for the workers.

July 16, 2024
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said he is “giving serious thought” to holding a hearing where Amazon executives would be asked to testify.

Amazon’s health clinic pushed a misleading account of call center errors

One Medical instructed staff to say that “patients received the care they needed” in incidents the company previously acknowledged included errors.

July 15, 2024
A One Medical clinic in Emeryville, Calif.

AI is exhausting the power grid. Tech firms are seeking a miracle solution.

Some data centers need as much energy as a small city, turning companies that promised a clean energy future into some of the most insatiable guzzlers of power

June 21, 2024
Scientists have been chasing the fusion dream for decades but have yet to overcome the extraordinary technical challenges.

Amazon fined $5.9 million for breaking labor law in California

The company is among the first to run afoul of a union-backed law aimed at protecting warehouse workers from aggressive productivity quotas.

June 18, 2024
Warehouse robots at the Amazon Fulfillment Center in Kent, Wash., in 2020.

Voice assistants, AI chatbots still can’t say who won 2020 election

With months to go before the U.S. presidential election, some popular AI chatbots and voice assistants deliver potentially harmful election misinformation.

June 16, 2024