World Model · podcast knowledge graph

AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)

2026-08-30 · 82 min · 48 entities

episode page audio

Asserted relationships

  • → references Alan Kay person
    0.77
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Kay
  • → references Anna Karenina LEO TOLSTOY book
    0.77
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://amazon.com/Anna-Karenina-LEO-TOLSTOY/dp/8175993421
  • → references @Taraseshan website
    0.77
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://substack.com/@taraseshan
  • → references footnotesandtangents.substack.com website
    0.77
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://footnotesandtangents.substack.com/
  • → references Akira Kurosawa person
    0.77
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akira_Kurosawa
  • → references War Peace Leo Tolstoy book
    0.77
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://amazon.com/War-Peace-Leo-Tolstoy/dp/8175992832
  • → hosted by Lenny Rachitsky person
    0.55
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed author/publisher: Lenny Rachitsky
  • → recommended Anna Karenina LEO TOLSTOY book
    0.50
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://amazon.com/Anna-Karenina-LEO-TOLSTOY/dp/8175993421
  • → recommended Anna Karenina LEO TOLSTOY book
    0.50
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://amazon.com/Anna-Karenina-LEO-TOLSTOY/dp/8175993421
  • → recommended War Peace Leo Tolstoy book
    0.50
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://amazon.com/War-Peace-Leo-Tolstoy/dp/8175992832
  • → recommended War Peace Leo Tolstoy book
    0.50
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://amazon.com/War-Peace-Leo-Tolstoy/dp/8175992832
  • → discusses Technology company
    0.40
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed category: Technology
  • → discusses Business concept
    0.40
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed category: Business
  • → discusses Entrepreneurship concept
    0.40
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed category: Entrepreneurship
  • → references penname.co website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://penname.co/
  • → references stripe.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://stripe.com/
  • → references snowflake.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://snowflake.com/
  • → references Codex website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://chatgpt.com/codex
  • → references thielfellowship.org website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://thielfellowship.org/
  • → references Product Management Theater Marty company
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://lennysnewsletter.com/p/product-management-theater-marty
  • → references tylercowen.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://tylercowen.com/
  • → references Chatgpt Work person
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://openai.com/chatgpt-work
  • → references Fast website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://patrickcollison.com/fast
  • → references watershed.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://watershed.com/
  • → references shv.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://shv.com/
  • → references sky.app website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://sky.app/

Entities found in this episode

websites 24

  • mentioned @Taraseshan website
    0.90
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://substack.com/@taraseshan
  • 0.90
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://footnotesandtangents.substack.com/
  • references @Taraseshan website
    0.77
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://substack.com/@taraseshan
  • 0.77
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://footnotesandtangents.substack.com/
  • mentioned penname.co website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://penname.co/
  • mentioned stripe.com website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://stripe.com/
  • mentioned snowflake.com website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://snowflake.com/
  • mentioned Codex website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://chatgpt.com/codex
  • mentioned thielfellowship.org website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://thielfellowship.org/
  • mentioned tylercowen.com website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://tylercowen.com/
  • mentioned Fast website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://patrickcollison.com/fast
  • mentioned watershed.com website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://watershed.com/
  • mentioned shv.com website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://shv.com/
  • mentioned sky.app website
    0.45
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://sky.app/
  • references penname.co website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://penname.co/
  • references stripe.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://stripe.com/
  • references snowflake.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://snowflake.com/
  • references Codex website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://chatgpt.com/codex
  • references thielfellowship.org website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://thielfellowship.org/
  • references tylercowen.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://tylercowen.com/
  • references Fast website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://patrickcollison.com/fast
  • references watershed.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://watershed.com/
  • references shv.com website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://shv.com/
  • references sky.app website
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://sky.app/

persons 8

  • mentioned Alan Kay person
    0.90
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Kay
  • mentioned Akira Kurosawa person
    0.90
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akira_Kurosawa
  • references Alan Kay person
    0.77
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Kay
  • references Akira Kurosawa person
    0.77
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akira_Kurosawa
  • mentioned Lenny Rachitsky person
    0.70
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed author/publisher: Lenny Rachitsky
  • hosted by Lenny Rachitsky person
    0.55
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed author/publisher: Lenny Rachitsky
  • mentioned Chatgpt Work person
    0.45
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://openai.com/chatgpt-work
  • references Chatgpt Work person
    0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://openai.com/chatgpt-work

books 8

  • mentioned Anna Karenina LEO TOLSTOY book
    0.90
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://amazon.com/Anna-Karenina-LEO-TOLSTOY/dp/8175993421
  • mentioned War Peace Leo Tolstoy book
    0.90
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://amazon.com/War-Peace-Leo-Tolstoy/dp/8175992832
  • references Anna Karenina LEO TOLSTOY book
    0.77
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://amazon.com/Anna-Karenina-LEO-TOLSTOY/dp/8175993421
  • references War Peace Leo Tolstoy book
    0.77
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://amazon.com/War-Peace-Leo-Tolstoy/dp/8175992832
  • recommended Anna Karenina LEO TOLSTOY book
    0.50
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://amazon.com/Anna-Karenina-LEO-TOLSTOY/dp/8175993421
  • recommended Anna Karenina LEO TOLSTOY book
    0.50
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://amazon.com/Anna-Karenina-LEO-TOLSTOY/dp/8175993421
  • recommended War Peace Leo Tolstoy book
    0.50
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://amazon.com/War-Peace-Leo-Tolstoy/dp/8175992832
  • recommended War Peace Leo Tolstoy book
    0.50
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://amazon.com/War-Peace-Leo-Tolstoy/dp/8175992832

companys 4

  • mentioned Technology company
    0.50
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed category: Technology
  • 0.45
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://lennysnewsletter.com/p/product-management-theater-marty
  • discusses Technology company
    0.40
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed category: Technology
  • 0.38
    evidence rules-v4
    Link in episode "AI’s third era: the rise of persistent AI coworkers | Tara Seshan (Product Lead ChatGPT Work)": https://lennysnewsletter.com/p/product-management-theater-marty

concepts 4

  • mentioned Business concept
    0.50
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed category: Business
  • mentioned Entrepreneurship concept
    0.50
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed category: Entrepreneurship
  • discusses Business concept
    0.40
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed category: Business
  • discusses Entrepreneurship concept
    0.40
    evidence rules-v4
    Feed category: Entrepreneurship
Episode description as stored
Tara Seshan leads product for Codex and ChatGPT Work at OpenAI (alongside previous podcast guest Andrew Ambrosino, who’s her engineering manager). Before OpenAI, Tara spent over six years at Stripe, where she joined as one of the first five product managers. She went on to lead product for Watershed, which Time magazine named one of the best inventions of 2022, and she is also a founder and Thiel Fellow. Most personally meaningful to me: Tara is one of the three inaugural Lenny’s Newsletter Fellows, a program I ran a couple of years ago to spotlight the most exciting up-and-coming product leaders. In our in-depth conversation, we discuss: 1. The shift from “rowing” to “steering,” and why human judgment and ambition will become differentiators as AI takes on execution 2. How OpenAI thinks about building for model capabilities two to three months out 3. OpenAI’s best internal memes, such as “Is this maximally accelerated?” and “Are you mainlining it yet?” 4. Why ambition is the new bottleneck for companies, and why elevating others’ ambitions is now the key part of the PM job 5. Writing as thinking vs. writing as reporting — Brought to you by: WorkOS —Make your app enterprise-ready, with SSO, SCIM, RBAC, and more Mercury —Radically different banking, now with Command — Where to find Tara Seshan: • X: https://x.com/tarstarr • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tarstarr • Newsletter: https://substack.com/@taraseshan — Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com • X: https://twitter.com/lennysan • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/ — In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Introduction (02:18) What makes OpenAI’s culture so different (06:42) Why AI product strategy is all about fast experimentation (09:02) How the PM role is changing (10:50) The shift from rowing to steering (15:35) What changes when agents become coworkers (20:05) Why ambition matters more than ever (26:39) Building products for models that do not exist yet (29:21) How ChatGPT’s Chat and Work modes differ (34:01) How OpenAI ships so quickly at scale (39:14) The vibe shift happening inside Codex (42:20) Why traditional roles are beginning to blur (45:59) Where humans will continue to provide unique value (48:20) How Tara uses AI in her own work (51:38) The magic of the /visualize command (52:39) Writing to think versus writing to report (57:10) How to use AI without losing your ability to think (01:00:15) Tara’s biggest lesson from Sutter Hill (01:04:16) ChatGPT’s site output (01:05:01) Why knowledge work is becoming more like coding (01:07:55) Lightning round and final thoughts — Referenced: • Codex: https://chatgpt.com/codex • ChatGPT Work: https://openai.com/chatgpt-work • Stripe: https://stripe.com • Watershed: https://watershed.com • Thiel Fellowship: https://thielfellowship.org • Meet your Lenny’s Newsletter Fellows: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/meet-your-lennys-newsletter-fellows • The rituals of great teams | Shishir Mehrotra of Coda, YouTube, Microsoft: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-rituals-of-great-teams-shishir • The nature of product | Marty Cagan, Silicon Valley Product Group: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-nature-of-product-marty-cagan • Product management theater | Marty Cagan (Silicon Valley Product Group): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/product-management-theater-marty • Patrick Collison’s examples of fast projects: https://patrickcollison.com/fast • Inside ChatGPT: The fastest-growing product in history | Nick Turley (Head of ChatGPT at OpenAI): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/inside-chatgpt-nick-turley • Andrew Ambrosino on X: https://x.com/ajambrosino • Tyler Cowen’s website: https://tylercowen.com • OpenAI’s CPO on how AI changes must-have skills, moats, coding, startup playbooks, more | Kevin Weil (CPO at OpenAI, ex-Instagram, Twitter): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/kevin-weil-open-ai • “Chop wood, carry water” quote: https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/questions/15921