#041 - Former Head of GTM at OpenAI, Zack Kass - The Truth About AI That No One is Mentioning

This episode is a deep, big-picture conversation with Zack Kass, Global AI Advisor and Former Head of Go-To-Market at OpenAI. The episode explores how AI is reshaping society, work, policy, human happiness, and our collective future. Zack breaks down the history of modern AI, explains why goalposts keep moving, and why society often misunderstands technological progress. Together, Zack and Graeme discuss attention economics, screen addiction, job displacement, political blockers, infrastructure bottlenecks, and the spiritual challenges that emerge once technology solves our material needs. At its core, the episode argues that AI is not a threat but an opportunity - one that can expand access, reduce the cost of essential goods, and spark a return to human connection, creativity, and meaning. Zack Kass is one of the leading voices in artificial intelligence and former Head of Go-To-Market at OpenAI, where he helped bring GPT-3, GPT-3.5, and GPT-4 into the global mainstream. With a decade-plus career focused exclusively on AI, Zack has worked across foundational model development, enterprise implementation, and frontier AI research. Before OpenAI, he led teams at Lilt, worked early in the data-labeling industry with CrowdFlower/Figure Eight, and has collaborated closely with innovators at Weights & Biases and CoreWeave.Today, Zack lectures at the University of Hong Kong, HKUST, and the University of Virginia, advising Fortune 500 and Global 5000 leaders on AI strategy, policy, and the future of work. His upcoming book explores how AI will reshape society over the next 30 years, emphasising access, progress, and human flourishing. Few people have been as close to the rise of modern AI as Zack, making him uniquely qualified to guide audiences through what’s coming next.