What happens when one of the most legendary minds in tech delves deep into the real workings of modern AI? A 2-hour long masterclass that you don’t want to miss.
Bret Taylor, current chairman of OpenAI, unpacks why AI is transforming software engineering forever, how founders can survive acquisition (he’s done it twice), and why the true bottlenecks in AI aren’t what most think. Drawing on his extensive experiences at Facebook, Google, Twitter and more, he explains why the next phase of AI won’t just be about building better models—it’s about creating entirely new ways for us to work with them. Bret exposes the reality gap between what AI insiders understand and what everyone else believes.
Listen now to recalibrate your thinking before your competitors do.
(00:02:46) Aha Moments with AI
(00:04:43) Founders Working for Founders
(00:07:59) Acquisition Process
(00:14:14) The Role of a Board
(00:17:05) Founder Mode
(00:20:29) Engineers as Leaders
(00:24:54) Applying First Principles in Business
(00:28:43) The Future of Software Engineering
(00:35:11) Efficiency and Verification of AI-Generated Code
(00:36:46) The Future of Software Development
(00:37:24) Defining AGI
(00:47:03) AI Self-Improvement?
(00:47:58) Safety Measures and Supervision in AI
(00:49:47) Benefiting Humanity and AI Safety
(00:54:06) Regulation and Geopolitical Landscape in AI
(00:55:58) Foundation Models and Frontier Models
(01:01:06) Economics and Open Source Models
(01:05:18) AI and AGI Accessibility
(01:07:42) Optimizing AI Prompts
(01:11:18) Creating an AI Superpower
(01:14:12) Future of Education and AI
(01:19:34) The Impact of AI on Job Roles
(01:21:58) AI in Problem-Solving and Research
(01:25:24) Importance of AI Context Window
(01:27:37) AI Output and Intellectual Property
(01:30:09) Google Maps Launch and Challenges
(01:37:57) Long-Term Investment in AI
(01:43:02) Balancing Work and Family Life
(01:44:25) Building Sierra as an Enduring Company
(01:45:38) Lessons from Tech Company Lifecycles
(01:48:31) Definition and Applications of AI Agents
(01:53:56) Challenges and Importance of Branded AI Agents
(01:56:28) Fending Off Complacency in Companies
(02:01:21) Customer Obsession and Leadership in Companies
Bret Taylor is currently the Chairman of OpenAI and CEO of Sierra. Previously, he was the CTO of Facebook, Chairman of the board for X, and the Co-CEO of Salesforce.
Newsletter – The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it’s completely free. Learn more and sign up at fs.blog/newsletter
Upgrade — If you want to hear my thoughts and reflections at the end of the episode, join our membership: fs.blog/membership and get your own private feed.
Watch on YouTube: @tkppodcast
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
#44 Barbara Coloroso: The Kids Are Worth It
Parenting expert and best selling author Barbara Coloroso shares her three foundational principles of child-rearing, how to get kids to be accountable for their actions, and what we can do as parents to raise confident,…
#43 Jennifer Garvey Berger: The Mental Habits of Effective Leaders
In a world that changes at a dizzying rate, effective leaders need to develop the skills to keep up. Developmental coach and author Jennifer Garvey Berger shares 3 habits to ensure continual growth, accelerated learning…
#42 Atul Gawande: The Path to Perpetual Progress
The world-renowned surgeon, writer, and researcher Atul Gawande shares powerful lessons about creating a culture of safe learning, the critical difference between a coach and a mentor, and how to ensure constant improvement in key…
#41 Tobi Lütke: The Trust Battery
Today, I interview fellow Ottawan and the founder and CEO of Shopify, Tobi Lütke. In case you’re still new to the internet, Shopify is the largest ecommerce platform that allows people to easily set up…
#40 Ben Thompson: Thriving in a Digital World
Today’s guest is Stratechery author and founder Ben Thompson. If you’re an investor in Silicon Valley, work at a tech start-up, or just love to geek out on technology and business analysis, odds are good…
#39 Tyler Cowen: Thinking About Thinking
There are only a handful of websites that I read religiously. One of those is MarginalRevolution.com, started by my next guest, Tyler Cowen. Other than hosting one of the most popular economic blogs in the…
#38 Ali Almossawi: Thinking in Algorithms
My guest for this short episode of The Knowledge Project is a man who wears many hats. Ali Almossawi is a San Francisco-based author of books on critical thinking and computer science education, and the…
#37 Annie Duke: Getting Better by Being Wrong
I have wanted to do this interview for a long time. On this episode, I am thrilled to have Annie Duke, former professional poker player and author of the new book, Thinking in Bets: Making…
#36 William MacAskill: The Science of Doing Good
On this episode of The Knowledge Project, I’m happy to have William MacAskill. William is the co-founder and President of the Centre for Effective Altruism (CEA) and an Associate Professor in Philosophy at Oxford University.…
#35 Robert Greene: Alive Time vs. Dead Time
In this episode of The Knowledge Project, I have the brilliant Robert Greene. Robert is the author of 5 New York Times bestsellers, including The 48 Laws of Power and The 33 Strategies of War.…