Episode description

Join us as we chat with Shir, the engineering lead of Notion AI, about her journey into AI, from her early fascination with Apple's speech-to-text technology to her impactful contributions at Google and Waymo. Shir shares insights into her current role at Notion, the innovative AI projects she's leading, and the unique culture of experimentation and failure that drives product development. Discover how AI drafts performance reviews in minutes, celebrates code deletion in team demos, and integrates seamlessly with Slack to provide precise answers. Plus, learn about innovative tools like the AI writer that helps overcome writer’s block and enables effortless content creation. Get a behind-the-scenes look at how Notion's unique culture fosters innovation and continuous improvement.

00:00 Introduction to Shir and AI Journey
00:47 Early Fascination with AI
01:36 Career at Google and Voice Search
03:43 Transition to Waymo and Challenges
05:11 Joining Notion and Initial Impressions
06:09 Adopting AI at Notion
11:55 Internal Use and Impact of AI
15:12 Challenges and Innovations in AI Integration
20:05 Monitoring and Feedback Mechanisms
22:39 Strength and Flexibility in Product Development
23:44 Exploration vs. Exploitation Phases
24:47 Speed Enables Quality
27:50 Overcoming Sunk Cost Fallacy
30:36 Celebrating Failures and Learning
33:11 The Future of AI and Creativity
34:44 Practical Uses of AI in Daily Work
38:04 The Evolution of Human-Computer Interaction
41:02 Final Thoughts and Reflections

For more prompts, tips, and AI tools. Check out our website: https://www.beyondtheprompt.ai/ or follow Jeremy or Henrik on Linkedin:

Henrik: https://www.linkedin.com/in/werdelin
Jeremy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyutley

Show edited by Emma Cecilie Jensen.