Who is Yash Kumar? Brain behind OpenAI’s ChatGPT Agent, not from IIT, IIM, VIT, NIT, studied from….

OpenAI has rolled out a new feature in ChatGPT called the ‘ChatGPT Agent’ which is designed to handle online tasks on its own, without needing you to constantly step in and give directions. This tool is being developed under the leadership of an IIT Hyderabad graduate, Yash Kumar. The ChatGPT Agent can manage entire tasks from start to finish. Whether you need to plan your meals, book tickets, or get a summary of your upcoming meetings, the Agent can take care of all of it. What sets it apart is its ability to think, plan, and take action by itself. It works on a virtual computer and can use different tools like browsers, apps, and computer terminals to complete tasks just like a real assistant would.

Yash Kumar’s education and career at OpenAI

Yash Kumar, an Indian-origin technologist, studied Computer Science at IIIT Hyderabad, one of the country’s top engineering institutes. He joined OpenAI in November 2023 and is currently working from the company’s office in San Francisco.

Before joining OpenAI, Yash spent eight years at Google as a software engineer. After that, he moved into leadership roles, first as Head of Engineering at Scratch, and later as a Director at DoorDash. His LinkedIn profile doesn’t reveal much about him.

ChatGPT Agent: A new smart helper from OpenAI

OpenAI has introduced a new tool called the ChatGPT Agent, which is designed to help people with tasks from start to finish. This new tool brings together two earlier OpenAI experiments, one called Operator, which could browse the internet and do online tasks, and another called Deep Research, which helped with detailed analysis. Now, both of these features are combined into one powerful system.

The ChatGPT Agent can do a lot more than just answer questions. It can visit websites, schedule meetings on your calendar, create slideshows and spreadsheets, and even write and run code safely on its own virtual computer.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman described it by saying, “The Agent is a big step forward for AI. It can do some amazing and complex tasks using its own computer. It can think for a while, use tools, plan, act, and keep thinking—all without needing constant help.”

One of the best parts is that you can work together with the Agent easily. If you change your mind while it’s working, you can pause it, give new instructions, or ask it to do something differently. It won’t lose the progress it already made.

Also, if the Agent needs more details to do the task properly, it will ask you for help. If the task is taking too long or gets stuck, you can pause it, ask for an update, or stop it and still get part of the results. If you’re using the ChatGPT app on your phone, you’ll even get a notification when the task is done.

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