
48 segments available
Logan Kilpatrick leads developer relations at OpenAI, supporting developers building with the OpenAI API and ChatGPT. He is also on the board of directors at NumFOCUS, the nonprofit organization that supports open source projects like Jupyter, Pandas, NumPy, and more. Before OpenAI, Logan was a machine-learning engineer at Apple and advised NASA on open source policy. In our conversation, we discuss: • OpenAI’s fast-paced and innovative work environment • The value of high agency and high urgency in your employees • Tips for writing better ChatGPT prompts • How the GPT Store is doing • OpenAI’s planning process and decision-making criteria • Where OpenAI is heading in the next few years • Insight into OpenAI’s B2B offerings • Why Logan “measures in hundreds” — Brought to you by: • Hex—Helping teams ask and answer data questions by working together: https://www.hex.tech/lenny • Whimsical—The iterative product workspace: https://whimsical.com/lenny • Arcade Software—Create effortlessly beautiful demos in minutes: https://arcade.software/lenny Find the transcript and references at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/inside-openai-logan-kilpatrick-head Where to find Logan Kilpatrick: • X: https://twitter.com/OfficialLoganK • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/logankilpatrick/ • Website: https://logank.ai/ 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) Logan’s background (03:49) The impact of recent events on OpenAI’s team and culture (08:20) Exciting developments in AI interfaces (09:52) Using OpenAI tools to make companies more efficient (13:04) Examples of using AI effectively (18:35) Prompt engineering (22:12) How to write better prompts (26:05) The launch of GPTs and the OpenAI Store (32:10) The importance of high agency and urgency (34:35) OpenAI’s ability to move fast and ship high-quality products (35:56) OpenAI’s planning process and decision-making criteria (40:22) The importance of real-time communication (42:33) OpenAI’s team and growth (44:47) Future developments at OpenAI (47:42) GPT-5 and building toward the future (50:38) OpenAI’s enterprise offering and the value of sharing custom applications (52:30) New updates and features from OpenAI (55:09) How to leverage OpenAI’s technology in products (58:26) Encouragement for building with AI (59:30) Lightning round Referenced: • OpenAI: https://openai.com/ • Sam Altman on X: https://twitter.com/sama • Greg Brockman on X: https://twitter.com/gdb • tldraw: https://www.tldraw.com/ • Harvey: https://www.harvey.ai/ • Boost Your Productivity with Generative AI: https://hbr.org/2023/06/boost-your-productivity-with-generative-ai • Research: quantifying GitHub Copilot’s impact on developer productivity and happiness: https://github.blog/2022-09-07-research-quantifying-github-copilots-impact-on-developer-productivity-and-happiness/ • Lesson learnt from the DPD AI Chatbot swearing blunder: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/lesson-learnt-from-dpd-ai-chatbot-swearing-blunder-kitty-sz57e/ • Dennis Yang on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dennisyang/ • Tim Ferriss’s blog: https://tim.blog/ • Tyler Cowen on X: https://twitter.com/tylercowen • Tom Cruise on X: https://twitter.com/TomCruise • Canva: https://www.canva.com/ • Zapier: https://zapier.com/ • Siqi Chen on X: https://twitter.com/blader • Runway: https://runway.com/ • Universal Primer: https://chat.openai.com/g/g-GbLbctpPz-universal-primer • “I didn’t expect ChatGPT to get so good” | Unconfuse Me with Bill Gates: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-Ymdc6EdKw • Microsoft Azure: https://azure.microsoft.com/ • Lennybot: https://www.lennybot.com/ • Visual Electric: https://visualelectric.com/ • DALL-E: https://openai.com/research/dall-e • The One World Schoolhouse: https://www.amazon.com/One-World-Schoolhouse-Education-Reimagined/dp/1455508373/ref=sr_1_1 • Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams: https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Sleep-Unlocking-Dreams/dp/1501144324 • Gran Turismo: https://www.netflix.com/title/81672085 • Gran Turismo video game: https://www.playstation.com/en-us/gran-turismo/ • Manta sleep mask: https://mantasleep.com/products/manta-sleep-mask • WAOAW sleep mask: https://www.amazon.com/WAOAW-Sleep-Sleeping-Blocking-Blindfold/dp/B09712FSLY Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com. Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
Logan Kilpatrick emphasizes the importance of hiring individuals with high agency and urgency. He explains how these traits enable employees to proactively solve problems without waiting for consensus, fostering a dynamic and innovative work environment at OpenAI.
"finding people who are high agency and work with urgency if I was hiring five people today like those are like some of the top two characteristics that I would look for in people because you can take ..."
Logan shares his background, detailing his previous roles as a machine learning engineer at Apple and his advisory work with NASA on open source policy. He reflects on the transformative impact of ChatGPT on AI and product development, highlighting his role in helping developers leverage these technologies.
"situations today my guest is Logan kpatrick Logan is head of developer relations at open aai where he supports developers building on open AIS apis and J GPT before open aai Logan was a machine learni..."
Logan discusses the rapid pace of change at OpenAI, particularly following the launch of ChatGPT. He provides insights into how developers and companies are adapting to utilize AI tools effectively, and shares his thoughts on the internal operations that allow OpenAI to ship products quickly.
"developers and companies figure out how to leverage these new AI superpowers in our conversation we dig into examples of how people are using chat gbt and the new gpts and other open AI apis in their ..."
Logan recounts the dramatic events surrounding OpenAI's board during Thanksgiving week. He describes the stress and surprise among employees, the trust in leadership, and how the team quickly refocused on their mission despite the upheaval.
"dramatic weekend that open AI had with the board and Sam Alman and all of that and so much more a huge thank you to Dan shipper and Dennis Yang for some great question suggestions with that I bring yo..."
Logan reflects on the resilience of the OpenAI team following the board drama. He notes how the experience brought the team closer together and highlights the importance of maintaining focus on their mission amidst challenges.
"powerful notebook UI lets you analyze data in SQL python or no code in any combination and work together with live multiplayer and Version Control and now hex's ai tools can generate queries and code ..."
Logan shares his excitement about emerging AI interfaces, particularly the Infinite Canvas concept from TL Draw. He discusses how these new interaction methods could revolutionize user experiences with AI, moving beyond traditional chat interfaces.
"using hex every day to make their work more impactful sign up today at hex.exe trial of the hex team plan that's hexte Lenny this episode is brought to you by whimsicle the iterative product workspace..."
Logan predicts that 2024 will be a pivotal year for multimodal AI, as new user experience paradigms emerge. He emphasizes the potential for innovative applications that enhance how users interact with AI technologies.
"Whimsical you can easily explore new Concepts using Dragon drop wireframe and diagram components create Rich product briefs that show and sell your thinking and keep your team aligned with one source ..."
Logan discusses the importance of specificity in AI product development. He advises developers to focus on niche use cases to avoid direct competition with OpenAI's general-purpose models, emphasizing the value of tailored solutions.
"docomo thank you so much for being here welcome to the podcast thanks for having me Lenny I'm super excited I want to start with the elephant in the room room which I think the elephant is actually le..."
Logan explores how companies can enhance efficiency using OpenAI's tools. He highlights examples of businesses that have successfully integrated AI to streamline operations and reduce reliance on traditional engineering resources.
"Sam and all those things what was it like and is there a story maybe you could share that maybe people haven't heard about what it was like on the inside of what was going on yeah it was it was defini..."
Logan Kilpatrick discusses the importance of specificity in AI applications. He emphasizes that companies should focus on domain-specific problems rather than attempting to create general-purpose AI solutions. This approach allows businesses to leverage OpenAI's models effectively without the burden of extensive research and development.
"going to launch like an AI sales agent like that's just not what we're building towards and companies who are and have some domain specific knowledge and they're really excited about that problem spac..."
Kilpatrick highlights how OpenAI tools, like ChatGPT, can significantly enhance company efficiency by reducing the need for extensive engineering resources. He references a Harvard Business School study that illustrates the efficiency gains from using AI tools compared to traditional methods, emphasizing the transformative potential of AI in the workplace.
"get to that later but I'm glad we touched that I imagine that's on the minds of many developers and Founders kind of along the same lines there's a lot of talk about how chat GPT and gpts and many of ..."
Logan shares practical examples of how companies are utilizing OpenAI's technology to streamline operations. He mentions a friend at Chime who developed a GPT to assist with ad creation and another to analyze experiment results, showcasing the tangible benefits of AI in everyday business processes.
"really excited also just like as this more time passes between the release of this technology for us to get more like empirical studies because like I feel this for myself like as somebody who's an en..."
Kilpatrick discusses the innovative applications of GPTs in various business contexts, including OKR planning and venture capital diligence. He emphasizes the versatility of GPTs in addressing specific organizational needs and the potential for companies to create tailored solutions that enhance productivity.
"leverage things and I think now with gpts people are able to like go in and solve some of these more tactical problems I think one of the general challenges with chat GPT is like it gives like a decen..."
Logan explains how he uses a private GPT for personal planning, which helps him generate timelines and metrics for projects. He shares insights on how this tool has improved his planning consistency and effectiveness, illustrating the practical benefits of AI in individual productivity.
"I get there's like engineering copil type tooling is there anything else that comes to mind just to give people a little inspiration of like wow that's an interesting way I should be thinking about us..."
Kilpatrick introduces the concept of prompt engineering as an emerging skill in the AI landscape. He discusses its significance in obtaining high-quality responses from AI models and shares advice on how individuals can improve their prompting techniques to achieve better results.
"a bunch of the examples from that and went in and put some of those suggestions into the gbt and then when now when I do any of my planning of like I want to build this thing I put it through and and ..."
Logan provides insights into the art of crafting effective prompts for AI models. He emphasizes the importance of context and specificity in prompting, drawing parallels between human communication and interactions with AI. He suggests that providing detailed context can lead to more valuable and nuanced responses.
"what is PRT engineering this term that people might be hearing and then even more interestingly just like what advice do you have for people to get better at writing prompts for say Chad GPT or throug..."
Kilpatrick stresses the necessity of context in generating meaningful AI responses. He shares practical tips for users to enhance their prompts, including providing background information and specific details about the desired output. This approach can significantly improve the quality of interactions with AI models.
"the model so I think the thing that is going to help solve this problem and we already kind of do this in the context of Dolly so when you go to the image generation model that we have do and you say ..."
Logan discusses the potential of AI to improve user outcomes by enhancing the quality of responses through better prompting. He encourages users to think critically about their prompts and to utilize available resources, such as OpenAI's prompt engineering guide, to refine their skills and maximize the benefits of AI technology.
"I did this for you I was like I'm interviewing Logan Kilpatrick he's head of developer relations at openi on my podcast give me 10 questions to ask him in the style of Tyler Cowan who I think is the b..."
In this segment, Logan shares practical tips for improving the effectiveness of prompts when using ChatGPT. He discusses the impact of small changes, such as adding a smiley face or instructing the model to take a break before answering, which can enhance the quality of responses. He also mentions the existence of a prompt engineering guide that provides further examples and strategies.
"of value if we got t-shirts printed they should say like context is is all you need context is the only thing that matters like it's it's such an important piece of getting a language model to do anyt..."
Logan introduces the concept of GPTs, a new feature that allows users to create custom versions of ChatGPT. He explains how this innovation changes the way users interact with the model, enabling them to provide context and instructions upfront. He discusses the potential for monetization in the future and highlights the excitement surrounding the OpenAI Store.
"actually make a material difference for you but for like something small and tactical it might not okay good tip amazing okay we've talked about gpts I think maybe it might be helpful to describe what..."
Logan elaborates on the capabilities of GPTs, including file uploads, custom instructions, and integration with external APIs. He emphasizes how these features empower non-developers to tackle complex problems by providing the model with sufficient context. He expresses enthusiasm for the future of GPTs and the opportunities they present for users.
"unlocking and what's been most exciting to me actually is like the non-developer Persona is now empowered to like go and solve these like really really really more challeng in Problems by giving the m..."
In this segment, Logan discusses innovative applications built using GPTs, highlighting the integration with platforms like Zapier. He shares examples of how users can leverage these connections to enhance their GPTs, making them more versatile and powerful. Logan expresses excitement about the potential for non-developers to create impactful solutions.
"probably like the most the most exciting thing to me for people who aren't who aren't developers awesome zappier is always in there getting there connecting things yeah they're great uh so the one tha..."
Logan mentions an impressive GPT application called Universal Primer, developed by the CEO of Runway. This tool employs a Socratic method to facilitate learning by asking questions and guiding users through complex concepts. He highlights its effectiveness in education and its position as a top GPT in the learning category.
"hard and customers want you to show them your product not just talk about it or gate it that's why product for teams such as atlassian Carta and retool use arcade to tell better stories within their h..."
Logan shares insights into OpenAI's work culture, emphasizing the importance of hiring individuals with high agency and urgency. He explains how this approach enables teams to respond quickly to challenges and innovate without bureaucratic delays. Logan illustrates this with examples of team initiatives that have led to successful product developments.
"what it's like to work at open Ai and how the product team operates and how the company operates so you worked at your two previous companies were apple and NASA which are not known for moving fast an..."
In this segment, Logan discusses how OpenAI manages planning and prioritization amidst high demand for its products. He explains the guiding principles that inform decision-making, including alignment with the company's mission and the need for reliability. Logan emphasizes the balance between responding to immediate user needs and long-term goals.
"people because it's you you can you can take on the world if you have people who have high agency and like not needing to either like you know get 50 people's different consensus because like you have..."
Logan Kilpatrick discusses how OpenAI fosters a culture of agency among its developers, allowing them to identify and solve problems quickly. He highlights the development of the assistants API as a prime example of this collaborative and proactive approach, emphasizing the importance of team-driven innovation rather than top-down directives.
"from developers that people wanted these higher levels of abstraction on top of our existing apis and like a bunch of folks on the team just like came together and were like hey let's let's put togeth..."
In this segment, Logan explains how planning and prioritization work at OpenAI. He outlines the challenges of balancing numerous requests from developers while staying aligned with the company's mission of achieving AGI. He emphasizes the importance of reliability and the need for a structured approach to road mapping and goal setting.
"we think we need to build this let's just go and build it I imagine there was still a road map and priorities and goals and things that that team had how does how does Road mapping and prioritization ..."
Logan shares insights into how OpenAI measures success for its products, focusing on metrics like adoption and developer engagement. He explains that while revenue is a goal, it serves as a proxy for acquiring more resources to enhance AI capabilities, ultimately driving the mission towards AGI.
"deciding any any of these problems I think on the developer side there's also these like core tenants of like reliability like hey you know it would be awesome if we had additional apis that did all t..."
Logan discusses the absence of OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) at OpenAI, contrasting it with other companies that utilize this framework. He reflects on how OpenAI's planning is more high-level and flexible, allowing for rapid adaptation in a fast-evolving AI landscape.
"new models new modalities whatever it is and then like as time goes on there's like all of this turmoil and change and it's interesting to have like mechanisms to be like hey how do we how do we updat..."
In this segment, Logan highlights the importance of team dynamics in fostering innovation at OpenAI. He contrasts the productivity of research teams with product teams, explaining how the constraints of GPU resources impact research efficiency and the strategic decisions around team growth.
"driven company along those lines I don't know how much you can sh about all the stuff but how do you measure success for things that you launch I know there's this ultimate goal AGI is there some way ..."
Logan emphasizes the significance of real-time communication tools like Slack in OpenAI's culture. He discusses how Slack facilitates instant collaboration across teams, enhancing coordination and maintaining a dynamic work environment, which is crucial for innovation.
"bunch of interesting interesting angles like that as well I don't know if I've heard of a more uh ambitious vision for a company to build artificial general intelligence I love that I imagine many com..."
Logan provides insights into the growth of OpenAI's team, mentioning that the company had around 750 employees at the end of the previous year and is continuing to expand rapidly. He invites interested candidates to consider joining the team, highlighting the ongoing hiring across various roles.
"quickly coordinate where like it's actually faster to send someone a slack message sometimes than it would be to like walk over to their desk because they're on slack and they're going to they're to b..."
Logan discusses how OpenAI maintains its innovative edge despite rapid growth. He explains that the research team remains intentionally small to maximize productivity and efficiency, and he reflects on the unique challenges faced by researchers in a GPU-constrained environment.
"point whatever you can share just to give people a sense of the scale yeah I think the last public number was something around like 750 um near the near the end of of last year 780 or something like t..."
In this segment, Logan outlines the future directions for OpenAI, focusing on expanding the capabilities of ChatGPT and introducing new modalities for interaction. He discusses the potential of GPTs as a means to onboard more users into AI, emphasizing the importance of tailored solutions for specific problems.
"it's really interesting I just saw this thread from one of our one of our research folks who was talking about how in a world where you're constrain by the amount of GPU capacity that you have as a as..."
Logan shares insights on the anticipation surrounding GPT-5 and how developers should prepare for its capabilities. He discusses the importance of building products with a future-oriented mindset, considering the advancements that GPT-5 may bring to the AI landscape.
"really just like text in text out or I guess like three months ago was just text in text out we started to change that with now you can do the voice mode and now you can generate images and now you ca..."
In this segment, Logan addresses the anticipation surrounding GPT-5 and the importance of building products with a future-oriented mindset. He reflects on the lessons learned from GPT-4's launch and the need for realistic expectations regarding AI capabilities. Logan encourages developers to think about how they can innovate beyond current limitations.
"because very like narrow vertical tools are what's going to be like a huge unlock for them so in that last case a classic horizontal product problem where it does so many things and people don't know ..."
Logan shares insights on the evolution of AI tools, particularly focusing on how advancements like GPT-4 have changed perceptions and expectations. He discusses the need for a grounded understanding of AI's capabilities and the importance of addressing real-world problems with improved tools. This segment emphasizes the ongoing journey of AI development and its practical applications.
"tip that when you're Building Products today you should build towards a GPT 5 future not based on limitations of GPT for today so to help people do that what should people think about that might be be..."
Logan explains the benefits of OpenAI's B2B offerings, including the API and enterprise solutions. He highlights how businesses can leverage these tools to create custom applications and share prompt templates internally. This segment underscores the value of collaboration and tailored solutions for companies looking to integrate AI into their operations.
"problems and I think like going back to like vertical use cases like I think people who are solving very specific use cases are just now going to be able to do that much more effectively like I don't ..."
In this segment, Logan previews upcoming updates from OpenAI, including enhancements to the GPT-4 Turbo model and the introduction of a new embedding model. He discusses the implications of these updates for users and the potential for improved performance across languages. This segment provides a glimpse into the future of OpenAI's technology and its accessibility.
"think a lot of our be B2B customers are using the API to like build stuff so I think that's one angle of it I think if you're a chubbt B2B customer we sell teams which is the ability to like get multi..."
Logan delves into the significance of embedding technology in AI applications, explaining how it powers question-answering systems. He shares examples of how businesses can utilize embeddings to ground their AI models in reality, enhancing user interactions. This segment highlights the practical benefits of embeddings and their role in creating effective AI solutions.
"there's a launch happening tomorrow I think after we're recording this can you talk about what is new what's coming out I think this is going to come out a couple weeks after recording but just what s..."
Logan discusses the opportunities for product managers and founders to leverage AI technology beyond traditional chat interfaces. He emphasizes the importance of creating unique user experiences and building core functionalities that harness AI's capabilities. This segment inspires innovators to think creatively about integrating AI into their products.
"super useful and people are doing a ton of this is like trying to ground these models in reality in what they know to be true like we know all the things from your podcast to be at least something tha..."
Logan encourages aspiring builders to seize the moment for AI innovation, highlighting the vast potential for new solutions. He invites collaboration and emphasizes the need for creative applications of AI technology. This segment serves as a motivational call to action for developers and entrepreneurs looking to make an impact with AI.
"advantage and and also like thinking about how to take your use case to the next level like i' I've tried a ton of chat examples that are like very very basic and like providing a little bit of value ..."
In a lightning round segment, Logan recommends two impactful books: 'The One Room Schoolhouse' by Sal Khan, which aligns with AI's potential in education, and 'Why We Sleep,' emphasizing the importance of sleep science for personal well-being.
"way to actually do that Twitter LinkedIn uh my my email should be findable somewhere I don't want to say it and then I get spammed with a bunch of emails like you should be able to find my email if yo..."
Logan discusses his enjoyment of inspirational stories, highlighting the film 'Gran Turismo.' He shares how it portrays the journey of a young man transitioning from virtual racing to becoming a professional driver, showcasing the power of determination and opportunity.
"excited about that the other one is uh that I always come back to is why we sleep um I yeah sleep sleep and SC sleep science are so cool um if you don't care about your sleep like it's one of the the ..."
Logan reveals his favorite interview question, which explores candidates' strong beliefs that may differ from the norm. He values understanding the reasoning behind these beliefs, as it provides insight into a candidate's character and thought process.
"candidates that you're interviewing yeah I'm I'm always curious to hear what people's like the thing that they so strongly believe that uh people disagree with them on what do you look for in an answe..."
Logan shares his life motto, 'measure in hundreds,' which encourages persistence and the understanding that success comes from repeated attempts. He emphasizes the importance of compounding efforts in achieving goals and overcoming failures.
"helping me sleep better and so we link to look at that sleep mask look at that adult uh two more questions do you have a favorite life motto that you often come back to share with friends or family ei..."
In a light-hearted moment, Logan discusses the potential for AI to engage in stand-up comedy, reflecting on how AI could humorously observe human behavior. He emphasizes that AI will augment human capabilities rather than replace them.
"at it I love that I could see why you are successful at open Ai and why you're a good fit there final question so I asked open a I asked Chad GPT uh for a very silly question give me a bunch of silly ..."
Logan encourages listeners to actively engage with AI tools like ChatGPT, highlighting the benefits of experimentation and learning. He stresses that using these tools can enhance productivity and creativity in various professional endeavors.
"don't work well in chat gbt like I oftentimes like see people be like ah this thing didn't work really well and the the key and I think we as open AI need to do a better job of like messaging this to ..."