AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (OpenAI’s product lead)
Tara Seshan, Product Lead for Codex and ChatGPT Work at OpenAI, discusses the evolving product management role in the AI era. She highlights the shift from "rowing" to "steering" with AI agents, the importance of ambition, and OpenAI's rapid iteration culture, emphasizing building for future model capabilities.
Deep Dive Analysis
15 Topic Outline
OpenAI's Unique 'Founders-Led' Culture
The Evolving PM Role in the AI Era
Shift from 'Rowing' to 'Steering' with AI Agents
Ambition as a New Differentiator with AI
Building Products for Future AI Models (2-3 Months Out)
Understanding ChatGPT's Chat, Work, and Codex Modes
OpenAI's Rapid Shipping and Iteration Philosophy
The 'Vibe Shift' Around Codex and User Obsession
Blurring of Traditional Roles in AI-Driven Teams
Enduring Value of Human Brains in an AI Future
Practical AI Uses: Sites and Visualize Commands
Writing as Thinking vs. Writing as Reporting
Avoiding AI Brain Rot and Over-Reliance
Lessons Learned from Sutter Hill Ventures
Knowledge Work vs. Coding in the AI Context
7 Key Concepts
Founders-Led Culture
A company culture, like OpenAI's, where everyone, especially in their product area, acts as a founder. There is limited top-down direction, and individuals are empowered to drive product-market fit akin to a startup founder.
Steering vs. Rowing
A model for the future of work where AI agents handle the 'rowing' (execution of tasks), and humans increasingly focus on 'steering' (setting direction, making opinionated calls, and providing feedback at higher levels of abstraction).
Ambition as a Differentiator
In an AI-powered world where easy and hard tasks become easier, the ability to be unreasonably ambitious and expand one's thinking about what's possible becomes the key differentiator for individuals and companies.
Building for 2-3 Months Ahead
A product strategy for AI, where development focuses on anticipating model capabilities two to three months in the future. Building for current models or models a year out is equally ineffective due to rapid advancement.
Writing as Thinking
A form of writing, such as drafting briefs or strategies, that is crucial for an individual to clarify and refine their own ideas. This process should be done by a human, not automated by AI.
Writing as Reporting
A form of writing, such as summarizing status updates or plans, that is primarily for conveying information. This type of writing is suitable for automation using AI models.
Product Marketing Fit
The concept that the way a product is talked about and marketed (its narrative and positioning) can and should be tested and refined even before the product is fully built, especially for B2B products.
7 Questions Answered
OpenAI operates with a 'founders-led' culture where employees, especially in their product areas, act like founders, taking ownership and driving product-market fit with limited top-down direction.
The PM role is shifting from academic and theoretical work to being more prolific and empirical, focusing on defining core hypotheses, rapid testing, and elevating the ambitions of the team rather than extensive documentation or execution management.
Teams should build for where AI models are expected to be in two to three months, as building for current capabilities or a year out will likely result in failure due to the exponential pace of model improvement.
Chat mode is for general conversations and search, Work mode (powered by Codex) provides agentic capabilities for knowledge work tasks like financial modeling without coding UI, and Codex mode offers the same power with a development-oriented UI for coding tasks.
Human brains will remain valuable for accountability (owning outcomes), expression (artistry and opinionation in creation), and fostering human connection (caring for colleagues, elevating ambitions, and collective enthusiasm).
To avoid 'brain rot,' one should consciously differentiate between 'writing as thinking' (which should be done by a human) and 'writing as reporting' (which can be automated by AI). The act of personally outlining, drafting, and refining ideas is crucial for maintaining sharp thinking.
Coding tasks can be validated by output (e.g., tests), but knowledge work requires understanding the process, inputs, and reasoning. AI products for knowledge work need to focus more on collaboration, showing in-progress work, citations, and the model's chain of thought.
11 Actionable Insights
1. Build for Future AI Model Capabilities
When developing AI products, build for where models will be in two to three months, not where they are now or where they might be in a year, as both extremes lead to failure.
2. Prioritize Empirical and Prolific Work
In a fast-changing AI market, being prolific and empirical (testing quickly with users) is more effective than being academic or theoretical (writing long reasoning documents).
3. Focus on Core Hypothesis Definition
The most important aspect of the PM job is defining the core hypothesis for your product, understanding what will determine its success or failure, and designing fast, effective tests.
4. Elevate Others’ Ambitions
As a product manager, a key part of your role is to remind your team and colleagues of what’s possible with AI, pushing them to be more ambitious and consider 10x bigger scales and faster timelines.
5. Use AI to Expand Capabilities
Instead of merely automating rote tasks, leverage AI tools to significantly expand the range of things you are personally capable of doing, becoming more of an ‘auteur’ in your work.
6. Utilize AI for Dynamic Site Creation
Use AI to instantly build dynamic, shareable websites for various purposes, from presentational artifacts to internal tools or personal tracking, replacing traditional docs and slide decks.
7. Leverage AI for Data Visualization
Use the ‘/visualize’ command in AI tools (like Codex) to quickly generate insightful visualizations from your data, simplifying the process of presenting complex information.
8. Distinguish Writing as Thinking vs. Reporting
Automate ‘writing as reporting’ (summaries, status updates) with AI, but preserve ‘writing as thinking’ (briefs, strategy docs) as a human process to refine your ideas and critical thinking.
9. Iterate Docs with Feedback
When writing documents for collaboration or buy-in, aim for 70% completion before seeking feedback. This allows others to contribute and polish the ideas with you, making the final product stronger.
10. Start and End Writing Yourself
For ‘writing as thinking,’ begin and conclude the writing process yourself to maintain sharp thinking. AI can be used in the middle for research, data pulling, or pushing back on ideas.
11. Test Product Marketing Fit Early
Before committing to building a product, focus on refining its product marketing fit by pitching the narrative and positioning to many people to ensure the story is transformative and compelling.
6 Key Quotes
You fail if you build for where the models are now. You fail if you build for where you think the models will be in a year. Both outcomes are equally wrong. Only way to build is two to three months.
Tara Seshan
Elevating others' ambitions or reminding them of what's possible here is a huge part of the product management role.
Tara Seshan
This is the worst the models will ever be.
Kevin Weill (quoted by Lenny Rachitsky)
Software is not like real estate. You don't like put money in and get value out. It is a little bit more like filmmaking, where you can put a lot of money into a film, but that doesn't guarantee that the film is successful or good.
Patrick Collison (quoted by Tara Seshan)
Done is better than perfect.
Tara Seshan
I have a hundred times the power and tools that he had making that film in my iPhone. And like, what's my excuse for not elevating my ambitions and making better stuff?
Tara Seshan
2 Protocols
OpenAI Product Development Memes
Tara Seshan- Ask: 'Is this maximally accelerated?' (Are we moving as fast as possible?)
- Ask: 'Are you mainlining it yet?' (Are you using this product all day, every day?)
- Ask: 'Are we being as ambitious as possible?' (Are we pushing the scope and scale of what we're trying to do?)
Toni Morrison's Principles on Work
Toni Morrison (quoted by Tara Seshan)- Whatever the work is, do it well, not for the boss, but for yourself.
- You make the job; it doesn't make you.
- Your real life is with your family.
- You are not the work you do; you are the person that you are.