Karina Nguyen transitioned from engineering to research after witnessing Claude’s progress in coding while at Anthropic. In a recent podcast interview, she emphasized the continued importance of soft skills even as the nature of work evolves. Currently at OpenAI, Nguyen highlighted that creativity and emotional intelligence are among the hardest attributes to impart to AI.
In a landscape where some jobs might eventually become obsolete due to AI, Nguyen believes that soft skills will remain highly valued, especially within AI research. “I just think people in the AI field are like — I wish they were a little bit more creative and connecting the dots across different fields,” she shared on a recent episode of “Lenny’s Podcast.”
Nguyen, a former employee at Anthropic, stated that she anticipates AI to primarily automate “redundant tasks for people.” She noted that the models she engages with often cannot grasp skills that come naturally to humans. “I think it’s the dream of any AI researcher to automate AI research,” she remarked. “It’s kind of scary, I’d say, which makes me think that people management will stay, you know? It’s one of the hardest things to — emotional intelligence, with the models, creativity itself is one of the hardest things.”
At OpenAI, Nguyen’s current role emphasizes “management and mentorship,” a shift from her initial passion for engineering. This change of heart occurred during her time at Anthropic when she observed Claude’s rapid advancements and realized the evolving nature of her career. “When I first came to Anthropic, I was like, ‘Oh no, I really love front-end engineering,'” Nguyen recalled. “And then the reason why I switched to research is because I realized, at that time, it’s like, ‘Oh my god, Claude is getting better at front-end. Claude is getting better at coding.'”
Nguyen mentioned that models are continually improving, becoming more cost-efficient as “small models” demonstrate capabilities exceeding those of larger models. As the expenses associated with artificial intelligence decrease, Nguyen anticipates the technology will spread further, facilitating work previously “bottlenecked by intelligence.” “I’m thinking about healthcare, right?” she explained. “Instead of going to a doctor, I can ask ChatGPT or give ChatGPT a list of symptoms and ask me, ‘Would I have a cold, flu, something else?'”
Nguyen has been contemplating her potential future in a workplace transformed by AI. If the models she’s helped develop eventually automate her current position, she envisions spending her time writing “short stories, sci-fi stories, novels,” or possibly working as a museum conservator. “I feel like I have a lot of job options,” Nguyen expressed. “I would love to be a writer, I think. I think that would be super cool.
