Motley Fool Money: Interview with Zack Kass — The Next Renaissance
Date: January 11, 2026
Host: The Motley Fool (Rachel Warren, Rich Lumello, Matt Greer)
Guest: Zack Kass, Author, The Next Renaissance; Former Head of Go To Market, OpenAI
Overview
In this engaging episode, Motley Fool contributors Rachel Warren and Rich Lumello interview Zack Kass, global AI advisor and the former Head of Go To Market at OpenAI, discussing his new book The Next Renaissance: AI and the Expansion of Human Potential. Kass shares insights from his career at the forefront of AI, the explosive launch of ChatGPT, the reality and perception of AI’s current moment (“bubble” or not), and profound implications of AI on work, human progress, and societal identity.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Zack Kass’s Background and the Impact of ChatGPT
[00:52–04:10]
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Career Journey:
- Kass studied history and computer science at UC Berkeley, entering AI via machine learning companies focused on data for training models—early work now seen as foundational for modern AI.
- Stayed in AI throughout periods when other tech sectors were booming, joining OpenAI and witnessing its growth from $1 million to over $2 billion in annual revenue.
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ChatGPT’s Release & Its Meaning:
- The launch of ChatGPT on Nov 30, 2022, was not a scientific, but an application breakthrough.
- Many underestimated the importance of making AI usable, rather than just powerful.
- Quote:
“ChatGPT was, as I remind people, not a research breakthrough, it was an application breakthrough...The application layer matters so much. You have to build things that people can simply use, otherwise you cannot change consumer or even enterprise behavior in a material way.” — Zack Kass [03:14]
- OpenAI’s intention: Let CEOs try the product, inspire adoption—resulting instead in explosive public uptake, fundamentally reshaping perceptions of AI.
2. How Early Are We in AI? Is There a Bubble?
[05:30–08:28]
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Stage of AI Relative to Human Progress:
- Kass uses baseball innings as a metaphor for the human journey, illustrating how early we are in AI's societal transformation.
- Quote:
“Third inning...I ask it [where we are in the human experience] of everyone. Because when someone's like, where are we in AI? I'm like, well, where do you think we are in the human experience?” — Zack Kass [05:37]
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Bubble Talk – Should We Worry?
- Kass has three “hot takes”: negative, positive, and neutral.
- Negative: Not concerned if there’s a bubble; corrections are sometimes healthy, with long-term benefits.
- Positive: Regardless of a bubble, the AI-driven scramble to expand infrastructure—especially energy—will have lasting benefits for humanity.
- Quote:
“I don't really care if there's a bubble. I don't care. And I'll tell you why...because I've studied history long enough to know that bubbles pop. And sometimes it's healthy. Like sometimes market corrections are actually quite good.” — Zack Kass [00:04, 06:21]
- Big Vision: The demands of AI may lead to breakthroughs in energy production (solar, geothermal, fusion), unlocking “unmetered energy.”
- Quote:
“Unmetered intelligence is very cool. Do you know what's cooler? Unmetered energy...if AI drives us to a place where we can build desalinization and vertical farms...everyone...can have clean drinking water and fresh produce, we will have done an enormous amount.” — Zack Kass [07:34]
3. Unmetered Intelligence and the AI Renaissance
[08:28–11:05]
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Premise of the Book:
- Kass wrote The Next Renaissance for educated laypeople (inspired by his mother) grappling with the accelerating change of AI.
- His theory: Intelligence, like electricity or the Internet, will shift from scarce to abundant—a positive for society.
- Quote:
“The theory that intelligence is in fact just a resource. And like water and foodstuffs and electricity and the Internet before it, it will go from very scarce to very abundant.” — Zack Kass [09:30]
- When intelligence abundance lowers the cost of every good and service, widespread human freedom and prosperity become more attainable.
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Dual Axes of Human Progress:
- Freedom (protected by governments) and low cost of living (driven by technological innovation).
- AI’s commoditization of intelligence sits clearly on the “cost-lowering” axis.
- What society does with this abundance is an open collective question, with upsides and challenges.
4. AI, Jobs, and the Crisis of Identity
[12:16–19:30]
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Commoditization & the Future of Work:
- Many jobs will see augmentation or automation, but actual job automation is influenced as much by political power (unions, regulatory protection) as technical capability.
- Example: Software engineers could face early automation due to lack of unionization or political support, unlike dockworkers.
- Quote:
“Most jobs are not going to fully automate because most jobs are going to have exceptional political protection...asking the question, what jobs are going to automate first? Actually requires considering what unions are weakest.” — Zack Kass [12:48]
- Automation brings economic benefits, lowering prices and improving standards of living—but society tends to overlook identity issues arising from this shift.
- Humans are conditioned to find self-worth through their occupation; stripping that away triggers an “identity displacement crisis,” not just an economic one.
- Quote:
“The problem is not going to be that there is not more and better food on the table. The problem is going to be that people can't clearly say, this is who I am...At least a generation, and maybe two will have to extricate the purpose and identity from work, which has been ingrained in us for thousands of years.” — Zack Kass [15:14]
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Historical Roots & The Coming Spiritual Battle:
- Cites John Maynard Keynes’ 1930 paper about economics giving way to a spiritual crisis of fulfillment in a world post-scarcity.
- Despite rising living standards, happiness may stagnate or fall unless community and purpose are rediscovered.
- Quote:
“The father of modern macroeconomics was arguing that on the horizon was a spiritual battle. And I totally agree...the problem is going to be, am I spiritually satiated? Am I happy? And we are already seeing the effects of the device addiction on a standard of living that is going up all the time.” — Zack Kass [17:25]
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Hopeful Note — The Human Opportunity:
- Potential for technology (AI) to free people for deeper community and fulfillment, reminiscent of hunter-gatherer societies.
- Quote:
“I do know that everyone is happiest when they are in physical community with friends and family, ideally outside. And I'm like, man, could technology, this technology in particular, finally give us the opportunity to do that, to actually congregate the way that our hunter gatherer ancestors did?” — Zack Kass [18:42]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- On the application layer of AI:
- “You have to build things that people can simply use, otherwise you cannot change consumer or even enterprise behavior in a material way.” — Kass [03:19]
- On the AI “bubble”:
- “Short term pain can lead to long term growth and progress.” — Kass [06:30]
- On intelligence as a resource:
- “My net bet is that the world gets a lot better because we are making the cost of this critical resource so cheap.” — Kass [09:56]
- On automation and human identity:
- “We are all descendants of people whose jobs were automated to our economic benefit, and we never pay them a second thought.” — Kass [14:56]
- On the spiritual challenge:
- “The problem is going to be, am I spiritually satiated? Am I happy?” — Kass [17:33]
- On AI as an enabler for community:
- “Could technology, this technology in particular, finally give us the opportunity to do that, to actually congregate the way that our hunter gatherer ancestors did?” — Kass [18:43]
Timestamps for Important Segments
- Kass’s Background & ChatGPT Launch: 00:52–04:10
- Is There an AI Bubble? Why It’s Not the Main Question: 05:30–08:28
- Unmetered Intelligence & Book Thesis: 08:28–11:05
- Future of Work, Automation & Identity Crisis: 12:16–19:30
Tone and Style
Kass’s language is approachable, thoughtful, and frequently reflective. He sprinkles his answers with historical and economic context, personal anecdotes (writing his book for his mother), and larger philosophical questions about the meaning of work, happiness, and human progress. The tone is optimistic but clear-eyed; Kass acknowledges challenges and tradeoffs while maintaining faith in human adaptability and the potential for technology to enable a new era of fulfillment.
Summary Takeaways
- AI’s true breakthrough is in usability and accessibility, not just technical prowess.
- Worries about “bubbles” are somewhat misplaced; what matters is the durable infrastructure (especially around energy) being created.
- Intelligence is becoming an abundant resource, analogous to electricity—this could dramatically lower costs and democratize prosperity.
- Automation’s main challenge isn’t economic loss, but loss of identity and societal roles—a coming “spiritual crisis.”
- AI’s promise: If harnessed well, it could enable deeper human connection and fulfillment by freeing people from drudgery, echoing the communal lives of our distant ancestors.
Recommended: Zack Kass’s The Next Renaissance: AI and the Expansion of Human Potential for readers seeking to make sense of our transformative AI moment—whether as investors, workers, or simply as humans.