From Coders to CEOs: OpenAI's Srinivas Narayanan on how AI is redefining engineering

India Today

10 hours ago

Artificial intelligence has climbed up the ladder so fast that it is difficult to grasp where we truly are right now. While the 'pros and cons of AI' debate has not landed anywhere, OpenAI's Vice President highlights how AI is redefining engineering. Srinivas Narayanan, Vice President of Engineering at OpenAI, noted that the future of software engineering is no longer just about writing codes, it's about thinking like a boss.advertisementAddressing the crowd at Sangam 2025, the flagship innovation summit hosted by the IIT Madras Alumni Association, he laid out his vision for the evolving role of engineers in an AI-driven world. 'For every software engineer, the job is going to shift from being an engineer to being a CEO. You now have the tools to do so much more, so I think that means you should aspire bigger,' he said.Coders need to think like CEOGone are the days when engineers needed to worry about every technical detail. With the rise of advanced AI tools, engineers are being freed from the weeds of execution. Narayanan described these systems as more than assistants, they're now taking on significant chunks of the building process, allowing humans to focus on leadership, strategy and purpose.
He explained, 'AI systems are moving far beyond simply answering questions.' As machines increasingly handle the 'how,' engineers will need to define the 'what' and the 'why', the kind of big-picture thinking that's long been the realm of company founders and C-suite leaders.'Of course, software is interesting and exciting,' he added, 'but just the ability to think bigger is going to be incredibly empowering for people, and the people who succeed (in the future) are the ones who are going to be able to think bigger.'Narayanan, who has led the development of some of OpenAI's most advanced systems, including Codex, a cloud-based engineering agent capable of completing complex programming tasks autonomously, argued that AI enables smaller teams to achieve outsized impact.'An organisation should be able to do things a lot more with the people that we have. I hope that this just elevates the potential for all of us as individuals and organisations to accomplish more than what we have,' he said.AI revolution in researchHis message wasn't limited to the world of software. Narayanan also highlighted how AI is revolutionising research, sharing examples of models that can reason through difficult scientific problems and even assist in medical discoveries. One compelling example involved AI helping to diagnose rare genetic disorders, an area where speed and accuracy can be life-changing.advertisementDespite the transformative power of these tools, Narayanan acknowledged the need for careful development. He spoke about OpenAI's approach to safety, noting the importance of guardrails in preventing misuse and reducing misinformation. 'We don't get everything perfect on the first try, but we learn and iterate rapidly,' he added.- Ends