Editorial illustration for Riley Walz, the ‘Jester of Silicon Valley,’ joins OpenAI’s OAI Labs team
OpenAI Reshapes AI Personality Research Team
Riley Walz, the ‘Jester of Silicon Valley,’ joins OpenAI’s OAI Labs team
Riley Walz, the self‑styled “Jester of Silicon Valley,” is stepping into a new role at OpenAI. Known for turning quirky concepts into functional web projects, Walz has built a reputation for pushing the boundaries of what a browser can do. His move comes at a time when OpenAI’s internal research arm, OAI Labs, is still finding its public footing.
The group, overseen by research leader Joanne Jang, operates under a veil of secrecy, with staff focused on early‑stage experiments rather than polished products. What makes this appointment noteworthy is the lab’s stated mission: to craft fresh ways for people to work alongside artificial intelligence. As the company expands beyond its core models, the demand for novel interaction paradigms grows.
Walz’s track record suggests he could translate his unconventional web‑building chops into the kind of prototype work the lab is tasked with. The next line explains exactly how his expertise will be deployed.
Now, Walz's skills creating novel web experiences will be put to use in OAI Labs, a relatively new team led by research leader Joanne Jang. The team is secretive about what it's been working on but has been tasked with "inventing and prototyping new interfaces for how people collaborate with AI," according to Jang. OpenAI has spent the past several years racing with Google and Anthropic to create new, compelling ways for people to use its AI models.
While ChatGPT has been a hit with consumers, now reaching more than 800 million people every week, the company is eyeing new interfaces to improve these experiences. The move comes as millions of developers have started using coding agents such as Claude Code as their main interface to access AI models. With hires like Walz, OpenAI hopes to get ahead of the next big AI product.
Will Walz's flair for viral web stunts translate into functional AI interfaces? OpenAI confirmed his addition to OAI Labs, a nascent group led by Joanne Jang that is tasked with inventing and prototyping new ways people collaborate with AI. Known as Silicon Valley’s jester, Walz has built a string of projects that blend humor with social commentary—Jmail, which mimics searching Jeffrey Epstein’s email archive, and Find My Parking, a location‑based service.
His knack for novel web experiences is now being redirected toward research rather than pure entertainment. The lab’s work remains opaque; no details have been disclosed about current prototypes or timelines. Consequently, it is unclear whether Walz’s unconventional style will yield practical tools or remain experimental curiosities.
Still, the hire signals OpenAI’s willingness to explore unconventional talent pools. As the team continues its secretive development, observers will watch for any tangible outputs that demonstrate how these new interfaces actually function in real‑world collaboration.
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Common Questions Answered
What changes are happening to OpenAI's Model Behavior team?
OpenAI is restructuring its 14-person Model Behavior team by integrating it into the Post Training team led by Max Schwarzer. The team's founding leader, Joanne Jang, is departing to establish OAI Labs, a new group focused on prototyping interfaces for human-AI collaboration.
What specific work did the Model Behavior team contribute to OpenAI's AI models?
The Model Behavior team has been influential in shaping AI systems including GPT-4, GPT-4o, GPT-4.5, and GPT-5. They addressed critical issues like sycophancy and political bias, helping to refine the personality and interaction capabilities of OpenAI's AI models.
What are Joanne Jang's goals for OAI Labs?
Joanne Jang aims to move beyond traditional companionship bots or autonomous agents, instead focusing on building AI as 'instruments for thinking, making, playing, doing, learning, and connecting'. Her vision is to create new interfaces that fundamentally transform how humans collaborate with artificial intelligence.