AI & I

LLMs have made it absurdly easy to go deep on almost any topic. So why haven’t we all used ChatGPT to earn college degrees we wished we had majored in or pursued a niche interest, like learning how to name the trees in our neighborhood? I know I’m not the only one to feel guilty for well-intentioned attempts at autodidactism that inevitably peter out.Entrepreneur Nir Zicherman has a reason for this disconnect: LLMs can answer most of your questions, but they won’t notice when you’re lost or pull you back in when your motivation starts to fade.As the CEO and cofounder of Oboe, a platform that generates personalized courses about everything from the history of snowboarding to JavaScript fundamentals using AI, Zicherman has thought deeply about why the ability to access information does not automatically lead to understanding a concept. In this episode of AI & I, he talks to Dan Shipper about everything he’s learned about learning with LLMs.They get into Zicherman’s counterintuitive belief that learning is a more passive process than you’d think, the biggest blocker for most people who want to learn something new, and where AI agents currently fall short in providing a meaningful learning experience.If you found this episode interesting, please like, subscribe, comment, and share!Want even more?Sign up for Every to unlock our ultimate guide to prompting ChatGPT here: https://every.ck.page/ultimate-guide-to-prompting-chatgpt. It’s usually only for paying subscribers, but you can get it here for free.To hear more from Dan Shipper:Subscribe to Every: https://every.to/subscribeFollow him on X: https://twitter.com/danshipperTimestamps:00:00:00 - Start00:00:36 - Introduction00:01:49 - Why you need a dedicated AI learning app00:04:32 - The process of learning is more passive than you might think00:10:21 - Live demo of Oboe to create a course about philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein00:16:52 - Learning works best when it comes in many formats00:28:21 - Where AI agents currently fall short in the learning experience00:34:10 - The importance of making learning feel accessible00:35:56 - How Zicherman uses Oboe to learn quantum physics00:40:54 - How embeddings spaces remind Dan of quantum mechanicsLinks to resources mentioned in the episode:Nir Zicherman: @NirZichermanLearn something new with Oboe: https://oboe.com/

Anthropic just dropped Claude Cowork—essentially Claude Code for everyone, not just engineers—and we got to chat about it with a product engineer at Anthropic who helped build it.In this live Vibe Check, Dan Shipper and Kieran Klaassen explore the new interface together, testing what works (and what doesn't) in real time. Anthropic’s Felix Rieseberg joins midway through to explain the philosophy behind Cowork's design: why it separates "Tasks" from "Chats," how the queue system lets you send messages while the agent is working, and what "agent-native" architecture means in practice. They also dig into Skills—Claude's prompt system that lets you customize how it works—and the Chrome connector for browser automation.This is a raw, unfiltered first look at what might be the future of how knowledge workers interact with AI: async workflows instead of turn-by-turn chat.If you found this episode interesting, please like, subscribe, comment, and share!Want even more?Check out Dan's guide to building agent-native applications: https://every.to/guides/agent-nativeTo hear more from Dan Shipper:Subscribe to Every: https://every.to/subscribeFollow him on X: https://twitter.com/danshipper00:01:00 - What is Claude Cowork00:02:36 - First demo: competitor analysis00:03:33 - Email drafting that sounds like me00:06:18 - Calendar audit running for an hour00:07:39 - Book taxonomy demo00:08:42 - PostHog analytics via Chrome browsing00:14:36 - Chat vs Code vs Cowork: when to use what00:31:06 - Felix from Anthropic joins00:36:39 - Why they built it in a week and a half00:37:57 - Design decision: why a separate tab00:43:57 - Skills as the primary hackable surface00:49:36 - Agent-native architecture principles00:56:57 - The origin story of skills at Anthropic01:03:00 - Our final rating

From cofounding LinkedIn to backing OpenAI early, Reid Hoffman is in the habit of being right about the future, so we wanted to know what he saw coming in 2026.In his third appearance on AI & I, Hoffman lays out his predictions for where AI will go in the 12 months ahead. He talks to Dan Shipper about how agents will break out of coding into other domains and who’s winning the coding agent race. They also get into how Hoffman defines artificial general intelligence, the way he believes enterprises will use AI, and why public debate on AI might turn more negative, even as the technology becomes more empowering for individuals.Hoffman’s other bets on the future include cofounding AI drug discovery startup Manas AI, investing at venture capital firm Greylock Partners, writing books, and hosting the Masters of Scale podcast. He’s also an investor at Every.If you found this episode interesting, please like, subscribe, comment, and share!Want even more?Sign up for Every to unlock our ultimate guide to prompting ChatGPT here: https://every.ck.page/ultimate-guide-to-prompting-chatgpt. It’s usually only for paying subscribers, but you can get it here for free.To hear more from Dan Shipper:Subscribe to Every: https://every.to/subscribeFollow him on X: https://twitter.com/danshipperTimestamps:00:00:00 - Start00:00:52 - Introduction00:02:20 - The future of work is an entrepreneurial mindset00:05:22 - Creation is addictive (and that’s okay)00:09:22 - Why discourse around AI might get uglier this year00:17:03 - AI agents will break out of coding in 202600:24:18 - What makes Anthropic’s Opus 4.5 such a good model00:28:46 - Who will win the agentic coding race00:36:13 - Why enterprise AI will finally land this year00:43:16 - How Hoffman defines AGI00:55:33 - The most underrated category to watch in AI right nowLinks to resources mentioned in the episode:Reid Hoffman: Reid Hoffman (@reidhoffman)The AI drug discovery startup Hoffman cofounded: Manas AI

Tomorrow is the first day of 2026, and to give our listeners a view of the trends that’ll shape the year ahead, Dan Shipper had Every COO Brandon Gell on AI & I to discuss their predictions for what’s next. They discussed how software will be built, who will build it, and what it will take for truly autonomous AI agents to become a reality.If you found this episode interesting, please like, subscribe, comment, and share! Want even more?Sign up for Every to unlock our ultimate guide to prompting ChatGPT here: https://every.ck.page/ultimate-guide-to-prompting-chatgpt. It’s usually only for paying subscribers, but you can get it here for free.To hear more from Dan Shipper:Subscribe to Every: https://every.to/subscribe Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/danshipper Timestamps:  00:00:00 — Start 00:01:05 — Introduction 00:01:34 — Reflections on Every’s growth over the past year 00:09:38 — What changes when a company grows from 20 to 50 people 00:11:55 — How agent-native architecture will change software in 2026 00:17:13 — Why designers are slated to become power users of AI 00:23:24 — The new kind of software engineer who will direct AI agents 00:33:42 — Why the next wave of AI training will focus on autonomy

Learn how to use philosophy to run your business more effectively.Reid Hoffman thinks a masters in philosophy will help you run your business better than an MBA.Reid is a founder, investor, podcaster, and author. But before he did any of these things, he studied philosophy—and it changed the way he thinks.Studying philosophy trains you to think deeply about truth, human nature, and the meaning of life. It helps you see the big picture and reason through complex problems—invaluable skills for founders grappling with existential questions about their business.I usually bring guests onto my podcast to discuss the actionable ways in which people have incorporated ChatGPT into their lives. But this episode is different. I sat down with Reid to tackle a deeper question: How is AI changing what it means to be human? It was honestly one of the most meaningful shows I’ve recorded yet. We dive into:- How philosophy prepares you to be a better founder- The importance of interdisciplinary thinking- Essentialism v. nominalism in the context of AI- How language models are evolving to be more “essentialist”- The co-evolution of humans and technology Reid also shares actionable uses of ChatGPT for people who want to think more clearly, like:- Input your argument and ask ChatGPT for alternative perspectives- Generate custom explanations of complex ideas- Leverage ChatGPT as an on-demand research assistantThis episode is a must-watch for anyone curious about some of the bigger questions prompted by the rapid development of AI.If you found this episode interesting, please like, subscribe, comment, and share! Want even more?Sign up for Every to unlock our ultimate guide to prompting ChatGPT here: https://every.ck.page/ultimate-guide-to-prompting-chatgpt. It’s usually only for paying subscribers, but you can get it here for free.To hear more from Dan Shipper:Subscribe to Every: https://every.to/subscribe Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/danshipper Ready to build a site that looks hand-coded—without hiring a developer? Launch your site for free at framer.com, and use code DAN to get your first month of Pro on the house!Timestamps:00:00:00 - START 00:04:35 - Why philosophy will make you a better founder00:08:22 - The fundamental problem with “trolley problems”00:14:27 - How AI is changing the essentialism v. nominalism debate00:29:33 - Why embeddings align with nominalism00:34:26 - How LLMs are being trained to reason better00:44:52 - How technology changes the way we see ourselves and the world around us00:46:24 - Why most psychology literature is wrong00:52:46 - Why philosophers didn’t come up with AI00:56:30 - How to use ChatGPT to be more philosophically inclinedLinks to resources mentioned in the episode:Reid Hoffman: https://twitter.com/reidhoffmanThe podcasts that Reid hosts: Possible (possible.fm) and Masters of Scale (https://mastersofscale.com/)Reid’s book: Impromptu https://www.impromptubook.com/The book Reid recommends if you want to be more philosophically inclined: Gödel, Escher, Bach https://www.amazon.com/G%C3%B6del-Escher-Bach-Eternal-Golden/dp/0465026567Reid’s article in the Atlantic: "Technology Makes Us More Human" https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/01/chatgpt-ai-technology-techo-humanism-reid-hoffman/672872/The book about why psychology literature is wrong: The WEIRDest People in the World by Joseph Henrich https://www.amazon.com/WEIRDest-People-World-Psychologically-Particularly/dp/0374173222The book about how culture is driving human evolution: The Secrets of Our Success by Joseph Henrich https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691178431/the-secret-of-our-success