OpenAI’s essay ‘The Eternal Complement’ depicts a future where the most important job for genius AI is mundane practical work

Good morning. This is Obata.

However, an essay posted on the OpenAI website paints a slightly different future.

Introduced in TLDR AI, the essay is titled ‘The Eternal Complement.’ The authors are Hemanth Asirvatham and Elliott Mokski. The subtitle is ‘Genius machines might provide the most value through mundane work.’

The moment I read this subtitle, I couldn’t help but say, ‘Exactly, that’s it.’ Even in the field of web production, I often hear that projects stall more due to logistical bottlenecks than a lack of ideas.

Reference article

https://openai.com/index/the-eternal-complement/

What’s missing is not ideas, but the power of execution

The essay’s argument is this: The biggest barrier stopping human progress is no longer coming up with ideas. It is actually turning those ideas into reality.

The figures introduced are easy to understand. To maintain ‘Moore’s Law,’ where semiconductor performance doubles roughly every two years, it now requires 18 times more researchers than it did in the 1970s.

The example was also vivid. Galileo’s telescope could be built by a few dozen people. On the other hand, the James Webb Space Telescope involved 300 organizations across 14 countries.

The invisible protagonist: ‘Organizational Intelligence’

The authors collectively call the mundane work required to turn inspiration into reality ‘organizational intelligence.’ This includes paperwork, procurement of parts, fundraising, and coordination among stakeholders—parts often omitted from stories of great discoveries.

They predict that both human intelligence and AI intelligence will primarily be used for this execution work from now on.

Another interesting point is the distinction between two future scenarios. One is a ‘civilization of depth,’ where AI efficiently approaches answers through thought alone, requiring fewer physical resources. The other is a ‘civilization of breadth,’ where as knowledge expands, experiments and facilities become increasingly large, and progress slows down due to physical barriers. The essay notes that it is not yet clear which path we will take.

Summary

‘The Eternal Complement’ suggests that the value of superintelligence may lie not in genius inspiration, but in the massive amount of coordination and practical work required to give that inspiration form. I believe that rather than expecting AI to be an ‘idea man,’ welcoming it as a ‘master of logistics’ will be more useful in practical situations.

From here on, I will discuss how to apply this perspective to your own company or work.

While this may look like a discussion about research institutions, small and medium-sized enterprises and individual business owners actually face the same structural problems. You have ideas, but lack the hands to bring them to life. I am writing this for those who feel that way.

Suggestion 1: Hand over ‘logistics’ to AI rather than ‘idea generation’

When I ask people how they use AI, I get the impression that many start with brainstorming project ideas or creating catchphrases. While that is certainly convenient, from the perspective of the essay, there are more effective ways to use it.

Organizing the prerequisites for estimates, identifying confirmation items for each stakeholder, working backward from schedules, and extracting tasks from meeting minutes. It is precisely these preparatory tasks that free up your hands when handed over to AI. You come up with the ideas yourself, and pass the detailed work required to shape them to the AI. This division of labor makes it easier for work to move forward.

Suggestion 2: Write down the ‘places where your work is stuck’

Try to think of three projects currently stuck on your desk.

Is the reason they are stuck because you lack ideas? Or is it because you are waiting for confirmation from someone, gathering materials, or dealing with tedious procedures? In most cases, it is the latter. If you write down the reasons why they are stuck line by line, the parts you can delegate to AI will become clearly visible.

Suggestion 3: Decide on a place to store records for AI as a coordinator

In coordination work, information about who is doing what and by when tends to get scattered. If you want to have AI help with coordination, it is important to decide on one place to gather that information.

A shared spreadsheet or a Notion page is fine. By consolidating the status of each project in one place where the AI can read and write, the AI can easily demonstrate its power as a ‘master of preparation’.

Summary

Even for superintelligent AI, its greatest value might lie in mundane practical work. If that is the case, using current AI for preparation and coordination is not a detour, but rather the main way to use it. Keep the ideas for yourself and share the work of shaping them with the AI. Such a structure will become the strength of small teams from now on.

Are the projects stuck on your desk stalled due to a lack of ideas? Or are they stalled due to preparation?

No AI, No Life.

P.S.

At SYNC, we break down articles like this every day, even exploring ‘what would happen if we applied this to our own work.’ It is highly suitable for those who do not want to end AI discussions as just interesting reading, but want to turn them into practical work patterns.