A research-lab pipeline separates AI exploration from product delivery

Dan Shipper proposes a one- or two-person lab that runs parallel frontier experiments, tests promising ideas in real work, and hands evidence-backed winners to the product team. Why it matters: Frequent model releases can pull an entire product team away from its roadmap. A separate lab preserves room to explore while repeat use, human work saved, and serving cost decide which experiments deserve production investment.

Try this: Run one AI experiment through four explicit gates: lab-only, internal use, early customer, and product handoff. Save a weekly review with repeat use, residual human work, and serving cost before advancing it.