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a16z (Andreessen Horowitz) · Oct 26, 2026 · 44 min

Why OpenAI Is Racing to Make Computer Use Superhuman

OpenAI's Ari Weinstein and James Sun discuss how computer-using agents have advanced with the Astra model, arguing agents are now faster than the average human and close to superhuman. They cover enterprise use cases (ERP, procurement, finance reconciliation), safety controls, the future of software and the open web, startup opportunity, and rapidly growing usage, which they say is only at an early scaling stage.

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Where they stand

AI

Very bullish

Computer-using agents are at a scaling moment for both consumers and enterprises, with rapid usage growth and large remaining opportunity for startups and diffusion into slower industries.

High conviction · years

Key takeaways

  1. Computer use is now faster than the average human and is close to being faster than an expert user, which the speaker calls a sea change for how people interact with computers. 8:48
  2. Astra uses fewer thinking tokens, is more reliable, and is more resistant to prompt injection, which matters for enterprise trust. 1:39
  3. Enterprise controls let businesses set human-in-the-loop levels, sandbox apps and websites, and use an auto-approve safety model (Guardian) to audit agent actions. 10:28
  4. Most promising enterprise use cases are tedious system-of-record workflows: ERP, CRM, procurement, finance reconciliation and sales prospecting, plus creative and design work later. 20:57
  5. Computer use works with every application without a developer building a connector, unlike MCP servers, which makes it a universal interface for legacy software. 15:28
  6. Legacy software and new agent-friendly software will coexist; cheap software creation will pressure products to be better, and UI is not going away. 26:25
  7. Agent use on the open web raises unresolved questions for ad-based business models, while standards like WebMCP let humans and agents share sites. 12:07
  8. Usage is growing very fast ('YC level of growth week over week') yet remains early; the next inflection is cloud-based agents reaching phone-first consumers. 41:51

Calls and positions

  • Superhuman computer use will change how everyone interacts with computers, as agents would default to doing anything done manually faster.
    “I think it's going to change the way we all interact with computers”
    Very bullishPrediction: superhuman computer useAri Weinstein, Oct 26, 2026Watch at 9:20#AI agents
  • Legacy software will not disappear overnight, and computer use will put pressure on companies to make software work better with agents.
    “I don't think that that stuff's going to go away overnight”
    BullishPrediction: legacy software persists alongside new softwareAri Weinstein, Oct 26, 2026Watch at 26:25#AI agents
  • The industry is at the scaling moment of computer use for both consumer and enterprise.
    “we're at the scaling moment of computer use both for consumer and enterprise”
    Very bullishPrediction: scaling of computer useJames Sun, Oct 26, 2026Watch at 43:30#OpenAI#AI agents

Views expressed

  • Computer use is already faster than the average human and is approaching superhuman, faster than an expert computer user.
    “we've gotten computer use now to a place where it's faster than the average human at using a computer”
    Very bullishAri Weinstein, Oct 26, 2026Watch at 8:48#OpenAI#AI agents
  • OpenAI believes it has the fastest, cheapest and most reliable computer use product.
    “we have the fastest, cheapest and most reliable computer use product”
    Very bullishAri Weinstein, Oct 26, 2026Watch at 8:15#OpenAI#AI agents
  • Controls and auditability become more important as computer-using agents become superhuman and can no longer be fully observed.
    “the control part becomes more and more important as our computing agents become also superhuman”
    BullishJames Sun, Oct 26, 2026Watch at 11:01#OpenAI#AI agents
  • Computer-using agents with Astra can do anything a person can do on a computer.
    Very bullishJames Sun, Oct 26, 2026Watch at 14:21#OpenAI#AI agents
  • UI is not going away; cheap software will force software to be better rather than everything becoming MCP and API.
    “I don't think UI is going away”
    BullishJames Sun, Oct 26, 2026Watch at 29:12#AI agents
  • Startups still have a large greenfield because AI diffusion into vertical industries is slow and labs are stretched thin.
    “I'm still very bullish on startups”
    Very bullishJames Sun, Oct 26, 2026Watch at 34:48#OpenAI
  • Agent usage is growing extremely fast but is still early, with only a portion of users using computer use.
    “it's still so early”
    Very bullishAri Weinstein, Oct 26, 2026Watch at 41:51#OpenAI#AI agents
  • The agentic browser product saw weak adoption initially but now sees very fast week-over-week growth after being built into existing products.
    “it's like YC level of growth week over week”
    Very bullishJames Sun, Oct 26, 2026Watch at 42:24#OpenAI#AI agents
  • Ad-based publishers face a business model conflict because agent impressions do not count as real ad revenue.
    “most places a agent's ad impression does not”
    BearishJames Sun, Oct 26, 2026Watch at 12:07

Companies, projects and topics mentioned

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