How AI Can Eliminate the “Chaos Tax” in Enterprise Software | Karthik Viswanathan (TalAiro)
Karthik Viswanathan, Founder and CPTO at TalAiro, breaks down the Chaos Tax and why the right AI question isn’t “what can we replace?” but “what human potential are we wasting?”
TL;DR
In this episode, we’re joined by Karthik Viswanathan. Formerly a product leader at AT&T, Macy’s, and Optum, he’s now the founder of TalAiro, an HR tech startup that is rethinking the operating system for recruiting.
Karthik argues that the hidden failure of the modern tech stack is forcing the user to serve as a “manual integration layer. He explains how the push to “unbundle” features results in a “Chaos Tax”— consuming 40-60% of the workday with fighting disconnected tools rather than doing their jobs.
Beyond that, Karthik also discusses:
How AI can make work more human: Why the true value isn’t in replacing jobs, but automating the “devil’s cut” of administrative work
The journey from enterprise leader to founder: What building TalAiro from scratch taught Karthik about prioritization after years of leading enterprise product orgs, such as focusing on the 20% of workflows that drive 80% of the value
1. The “Chaos Tax” is the invisible cost of “unbundling” (3:10)
Karthik’s core idea: specialization sounded great on paper… until humans became the integration layer (or, the glue). Instead of these tools filling in the gaps where necessary, they’ve become too overwhelming for teams to juggle.
Karthik describes a world where:
Teams use 9–10 tools daily
They pay hundreds per month
They often use 10–20% of what those tools can do
Every copy/paste, reconciliation, and context switch quietly drains decision quality
“It’s like when you go to a happy hour or when you actually make a good barrel of bourbon. It’s a devil’s cut, right? It always seems to just evaporate and then we wonder where that invisible time went.”
The takeaway: Tool sprawl doesn’t just waste time, it lowers decision quality and forces people to justify worse decisions because they’re out of bandwidth.
2. Pushing back on the idea that complexity is the “price you pay” for top-tier systems (6:20)
Karthik asks, if consumers can buy a Tesla in a few clicks, why do we accept other workflows that are incredibly complicated?
When teams are stuck in tool sprawl, and systems don’t connect, each tool:
Has its own dataset
Has its own “AI chatbot” (because of course it does)
Tells a different story
And instead of intelligence, you get noise.
3. Karthik’s product rule: If it matters, it must take 3 steps or less (or be automated) (12:30)
One of Karthik’s most practical constraints is simple: if a workflow matters, it should be automated or doable in three steps. He also sets a speed bar — most tasks in their mobile experience should take about 45 seconds.
The goal is fewer clicks, faster decisions, and less product bloat.
4. The AI question leaders should ask is not “what can we replace?” (15:05)
Karthik argues AI can actually make work more human, because it removes the admin sludge that steals emotional bandwidth.
“I really want leaders to stop asking what can AI replace, and start asking: what human potential are we wasting today?”
When your day is spent reconciling tools and chasing the “real” answer, you burn your best thinking on noise instead of judgment.
The takeaway:
AI should protect human judgment, not replace it
The goal is dignity and time back
Automation should remove the tedious work, so humans can do the human parts
Links
Chapters
00:00: Introduction
2:37: Karthik's product background
4:47: The "chaos tax" and how tool sprawl negatively impacts product efficiency
6:23: Challenges in HR tech
11:36: Working backwards from customer problems to build your digital solution
14:49: How TalAiro differentiates itself as an HR tool
17:41: The role of AI in enhancing human potential
25:44: Karthik's transition from enterprise to startup leader
32:23: Conclusion
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