Latest news with #Lenny'sPodcast
Business Insider
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Here's how Uber's product chief uses AI at work — and one tool he's going to use next
Uber's chief product officer has one AI tool on his to-do list. In an episode of "Lenny's Podcast" released on Sunday, Uber's product chief, Sachin Kansal, shared two ways he is using AI for his everyday tasks at the ride-hailing giant and how he plans to add NotebookLM to his AI suite. Kansal joined Uber eight years ago as its director of product management after working at cybersecurity and taxi startups. He became Uber's product chief last year. Kansal said he uses OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini to summarize long reports. "Some of these reports, they're 50 to 100 pages long," he said. "I will never have the time to read them." He said he uses the chatbots to acquaint himself with what's happening and how riders are feeling in Uber's various markets, such as South Africa, Brazil, and Korea. The CPO said his second use case is treating AI like a research assistant, because some large language models now offer a deep research feature. Kansal gave a recent example of when his team was thinking about a new driver feature. He asked ChatGPT's deep research mode about what drivers may think of the add-on. "It's an amazing research assistant and it's absolutely a starting point for a brainstorm with my team with some really, really good ideas," the CPO said. In April, Uber's CEO, Dara Khosrowshahi, said that not enough of his 30,000-odd employees are using AI. He said learning to work with AI agents to code is "going to be an absolute necessity at Uber within a year." Uber did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. Kansal's next tool: NotebookLM On the podcast, Kansal also highlighted NotebookLM, Google Lab's research and note-taking tool, which is especially helpful for interacting with documents. He said he doesn't use the product yet, but wants to. "I know a lot of people who have started using it, and that is the next thing that I'm going to use," he said. "Just to be able to build an audio podcast based on a bunch of information that you can consume. I think that's awesome," he added. Kansal was referring to the "Audio Overview" feature, which summarizes uploaded content in the form of two AIs having a voice discussion. NotebookLM was launched in mid-2023 and has quickly become a must-have tool for researchers and AI enthusiasts. Andrej Karpathy, Tesla's former director of AI and OpenAI cofounder, is among those who have praised the tool and its podcast feature. "It's possible that NotebookLM podcast episode generation is touching on a whole new territory of highly compelling LLM product formats," he said in a September post on X. "Feels reminiscent of ChatGPT. Maybe I'm overreacting."
NDTV
6 days ago
- Business
- NDTV
Microsoft Chief Product Officer's Message For Coders After Laying Off 6,000 Employees
Aparna Chennapragada, the chief product officer (CPO) of experiences and devices at Microsoft, has said she "fundamentally disagrees" with the notion that coding careers are obsolete and computer science irrelevant. Ms Chennapragada's statement came on the heels of the tech giant laying off nearly 6,000 people, roughly 3% of its global workforce. Learning to code has become more valuable than ever, even though the way we code is changing with time, Ms Chennapragada said during Lenny's Podcast. "A lot of folks think about, 'Oh, don't bother studying computer science or the coding is dead,' and I just fundamentally disagree," she said. "If anything, I think we've always had higher and higher layers of abstraction in programming," she added. Microsoft, which is marking its 50th anniversary this year, emerged as one of the first companies to double down on artificial intelligence (AI) when the tech sector witnessed the historic launch of ChatGPT in 2022. The job cuts at Microsoft come as the company continues to invest aggressively in AI. In April this year, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said AI now wrote up to 30% of their codes in certain projects. This raises questions about the demand for human programmers in future. But Ms Chennapragada argues that AI represents just another layer of abstraction in the evolution of programming, highlighting they don't program in assembly anymore. "Most of us don't even program in C, and then you are kind of higher and higher layers of abstraction," she said and suggested that engineers might become "software operators" instead. There will be an "order of magnitude more software operators", she added. "Instead of 'Cs,' maybe we'll have 'SOs,' but that does not mean you don't understand computer science," she said. For project managers, Ms Chennapragada is expecting modified responsibilities, focused on "taste-making and editing". The lay-offs came as part of Microsoft's effort to cut costs while channelling billions of dollars into AI, something even Google is doing. "We continue to implement organisational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace," a Microsoft spokesperson said.
India Today
28-05-2025
- Business
- India Today
Former OpenAI VP says human taste will matter more in the world where AI is making slop
Even with everything that AI is capable of doing, there's one thing it still can't do properly, i.e., think and feel like a human. That's the point Krithika Shankarraman, former VP of marketing at OpenAI, is making. She believes that in a world flooded with AI-made content, it's the human touch — our ideas, our choices, and our care — that will make the difference. In a recent episode of Lenny's Podcast (via a Business Insider's report), she said, 'Taste is going to become a distinguishing factor in the age of AI because there's going to be so much drivel that is generated by AI. That power is at anyone's fingertips.'advertisementShankarraman warns that while AI can speed up work, it's not meant to replace people. She believes that AI should support us with our work, and not take over. If businesses depend too much on AI and leave humans out of the process, their work will all start to look the same. 'The companies that are going to distinguish themselves are the ones that show their craft,' she said. 'That they show their true understanding of the product, the true understanding of their customer, and connect the two in meaningful ways.' In short, the best companies will be the ones that care about their products and their customers. And only real people can make those connections. No matter how advanced AI becomes, it still can't replace human care and creativity. She added, 'What it means to market a product, what it means to show up as a fantastic operator, is in and of itself changing.'advertisement To keep up, Shankarraman believes it's important to understand the basics. That's why she supports learning STEM (science, technology, engineering, and maths). According to her, 'This is why I would still be a very firm believer in STEM education,' she said. 'You understand the fundamental concepts. And then you can have a choice and optionality in how you decide to apply those concepts, but the concepts themselves have to be there in the foundations.'Shankarraman also pointed out that learning just to pass exams isn't helpful anymore. We should be learning to understand how things work, so we're better prepared to adapt and grow. 'Because being of that growth mindset, if you go to school just to earn the grades or to finish the coursework, it's a very different mindset than if you go to school to learn those concepts and to understand how to apply them,' she said individuals must take responsibility for how they use AI. But she also hopes that companies don't get stuck in a race to show off who has the best chatbot. Instead, she wants them to think long-term and use AI to make a real difference. 'Long story short, what I'm trying to say is that all of these companies have to think in a much more long-term oriented fashion. Because it's not about a race of the best chatbot and the best outputs. It's about, how does AI become a positive force for humanity?', she said.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Former OpenAI VP says human taste will become the 'real differentiator' in a world where AI 'drivel' is easily generated
Krithika Shankarraman, former VP of marketing at OpenAI, said human taste will become a distinguishing factor in business. Companies will need to "show their craft" as AI makes it easier to generate "drivel," she said in a podcast interview. A STEM education can help avoid over-reliance on AI, she added. In the era of AI saturation, OpenAI's former VP of marketing expects human taste and craft to distinguish between success and failure as businesses implement the technology. "Taste is going to become a distinguishing factor in the age of AI because there's going to be so much drivel that is generated by AI," said Krithika Shankarraman, a former OpenAI and Stripe employee who is currently an entrepreneur in residence at VC firm Thrive Capital, on a recent episode of Lenny's Podcast. "That power is at anyone's fingertips." AI tools, in theory, make it that much easier to deploy and market a product. To rise above the oceans of companies vying for consumer attention, Shankarraman believes human employees should be involved throughout every step of the process. "The companies that are going to distinguish themselves are the ones that show their craft," she said. "That they show their true understanding of the product, the true understanding of their customer, and connect the two in meaningful ways." Companies should be using AI to "augment" their existing efforts, she added. "To me, that is going to be a real differentiator for not only great marketers but great companies to stand out in the field," Shankarraman said. Shankarraman said she believes AI is a breakthrough tool, and if you're not already workshopping how to best use it to your advantage, you'll be in danger of falling behind. "What it means to market a product, what it means to show up as a fantastic operator, is in and of itself changing," she said. Understanding the "underlying mechanics" of what you're trying to achieve is key, she added, and helps to avoid over-reliance on AI. "This is why I would still be a very firm believer in STEM education, is that you understand the fundamental concepts," Shankarraman said. "And then you can have a choice and optionality in how you decide to apply those concepts, but the concepts themselves have to be there in the foundations." Going forward, Shankarraman believes we should be encouraging learning for its own sake, which will make the absorption of critical concepts somewhat easier. "Because being of that growth mindset, if you go to school just to earn the grades or to finish the coursework, it's a very different mindset than if you go to school to learn those concepts and to understand how to apply them," she said. Shankarraman did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Business Insider prior to publication. And while Shankarraman ultimately said it's on the individual to be accountable for their AI usage, she also hopes that companies keep responsible development in mind as their models advance, rather than leaning into "one-upmanship." "Long story short, what I'm trying to say is that all of these companies have to think in a much more long-term oriented fashion," she said. "Because it's not about a race of the best chatbot and the best outputs. It's about, how does AI become a positive force for humanity?" Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Insider
27-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Former OpenAI VP says human taste will become the 'real differentiator' in a world where AI 'drivel' is easily generated
In the era of AI saturation, OpenAI's former VP of marketing expects human taste and craft to distinguish between success and failure as businesses implement the technology. "Taste is going to become a distinguishing factor in the age of AI because there's going to be so much drivel that is generated by AI," said Krithika Shankarraman, a former OpenAI and Stripe employee who is currently an entrepreneur in residence at VC firm Thrive Capital, on a recent episode of Lenny's Podcast. "That power is at anyone's fingertips." AI tools, in theory, make it that much easier to deploy and market a product. To rise above the oceans of companies vying for consumer attention, Shankarraman believes human employees should be involved throughout every step of the process. "The companies that are going to distinguish themselves are the ones that show their craft," she said. "That they show their true understanding of the product, the true understanding of their customer, and connect the two in meaningful ways." Companies should be using AI to "augment" their existing efforts, she added. "To me, that is going to be a real differentiator for not only great marketers but great companies to stand out in the field," Shankarraman said. Shankarraman said she believes AI is a breakthrough tool, and if you're not already workshopping how to best use it to your advantage, you'll be in danger of falling behind. "What it means to market a product, what it means to show up as a fantastic operator, is in and of itself changing," she said. Understanding the "underlying mechanics" of what you're trying to achieve is key, she added, and helps to avoid over-reliance on AI. "This is why I would still be a very firm believer in STEM education, is that you understand the fundamental concepts," Shankarraman said. "And then you can have a choice and optionality in how you decide to apply those concepts, but the concepts themselves have to be there in the foundations." Going forward, Shankarraman believes we should be encouraging learning for its own sake, which will make the absorption of critical concepts somewhat easier. "Because being of that growth mindset, if you go to school just to earn the grades or to finish the coursework, it's a very different mindset than if you go to school to learn those concepts and to understand how to apply them," she said. Shankarraman did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Business Insider prior to publication. And while Shankarraman ultimately said it's on the individual to be accountable for their AI usage, she also hopes that companies keep responsible development in mind as their models advance, rather than leaning into "one-upmanship." "Long story short, what I'm trying to say is that all of these companies have to think in a much more long-term oriented fashion," she said. "Because it's not about a race of the best chatbot and the best outputs. It's about, how does AI become a positive force for humanity?"
