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Rise of the AI CEO: Coinbase CEO Explains “Reverse Prompting”

January 28, 202601:17
00:00:00
Talk to me about knowledge workers and
00:00:01
what you're seeing with your most AI
00:00:02
first employees.
00:00:03
>> Yeah, so one of the big pushes we made
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in the last year was um we got our own
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internal hosted AI model that was
00:00:11
connected to all of our data sources,
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right? So it's like every Slack message,
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every Google doc, every Salesforce data
00:00:17
confluence, you know. So now the data is
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all aggregated and I've started to ask
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it really it's not just like prompting
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it, hey, can you write this kind of memo
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for me or something? It's like I'm
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asking these AI agents now um as CEO
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like what should I be aware of um in the
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company that I might not be aware of and
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it'll tell me did you know that like
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there's actually disagreement on this
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team about the strategy and I was like
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actually I didn't know that cuz it can
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read every Slack message in every every
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Google doc and then this is like reverse
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prompting. So instead of telling the
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agent what you want to do you you ask it
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what you should be thinking more about
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right and
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>> it's a mentor.
00:00:52
>> Yeah. It's a coach.
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>> Yeah. Like what could make me a better
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CEO? And it's like, well, I notic I
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looked at all how you spent your time in
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the last quarter. Here's how you said
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that you wanted to spend it, but you
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actually spent like 32% of your time on
00:01:02
this instead of 20. Um, and it'll I've
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asked it other questions like, you know,
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what's the thing that I changed my mind
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on the most over the last year? Things
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like that. So, it's been it's now
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becoming like it'll prompt you with
00:01:14
information you should be thinking about
00:01:16
instead of the other way

Podspun Insights

In this episode, the conversation dives deep into the transformative role of AI in the workplace, particularly through the lens of knowledge workers. The guest shares insights on their company's innovative approach to harnessing AI, revealing how an internal AI model aggregates data from various sources like Slack messages, Google Docs, and Salesforce. This isn't just about automating tasks; it's about flipping the script on traditional interactions with AI. Instead of merely asking the AI to perform tasks, the CEO now seeks guidance, asking questions that lead to deeper insights about team dynamics and personal performance. This shift towards AI as a mentor and coach opens up a new frontier for leadership and decision-making, challenging listeners to rethink how they engage with technology in their own professional lives. The episode is a thought-provoking exploration of AI's potential to enhance human capabilities, making it a must-listen for anyone interested in the future of work.

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Episode Highlights

  • Revealing Team Dynamics
    AI can uncover hidden disagreements within teams by analyzing communication data.
    “Did you know there's disagreement on this team?”
    @ 00m 34s
    January 28, 2026
  • AI as a CEO's Coach
    AI is now acting as a mentor for CEOs, providing insights and prompting self-reflection.
    “It's like a mentor.”
    @ 00m 51s
    January 28, 2026

Episode Quotes

Key Moments

  • Team Disagreement00:34
  • AI Insights00:36
  • Self-Reflection00:53