The Next Renaissance is one of those books that arrives at exactly the right moment. Written by Zack Kass, formerly head of go-to-market at OpenAI, it’s a sneak peek into the future, as shared by someone who helped architect it.
At its best, this book is a primer on our near future, which is, for all practical purposes, a genuine civilizational turning point.
Kass’s central idea is both simple and profound: we are moving into an era where intelligence itself becomes abundant. And when something that once defined power, labor, and identity becomes cheap and scalable, everything downstream must change.
Kass draws a compelling parallel between the changes we’re experiencing now and the Renaissance sparked by the printing press. Just as mass access to information reshaped art, science, politics, and personal identity, artificial intelligence will reshape how we work, how we create value, and how we understand purpose.
The question is how thoughtfully we choose to engage with it.
What I found most valuable in the first half of the book is Kass’s ability to zoom out. He lays out the issues surrounding AI historically, philosophically, and culturally — good and bad. He also asks the hard questions that we don’t yet have answers for.
For example, what happens to work when productivity is automated? What gives people dignity when we all have access to the same information and can process it at advanced levels? And how will we find meaning if AI is doing much of our work for us?
I was fascinated by his insights. They helped me understand what is coming and how I need to think about AI in my own life. I also found it reassuring that Kass is confident and hopeful about a future led by AI. He takes a lot of the fear out of the disruptions we’re experiencing.
That said, I want to talk about something I now feel is important to address in book reviews, especially books about AI.
On AI, Authorship, and Voice
It was obvious to me that The Next Renaissance was written with the help of AI.
To Kass’s credit, the final chapter openly acknowledges this. He doesn’t name the tool, but the admission is there.
What’s interesting is that the shift is audible.
In the first half of the book, where Kass lays out philosophy, history, and his personal understanding of AI, I hear him. There’s a human cadence, a specificity of thought, and the sense that time and care went into refining the ideas. This is where his authority shows, and it’s why the book is worth reading.
Then, somewhere in the second half, something changes.
The later chapters, those that flesh out the book, carry the distinct voice of ChatGPT. The sentences are polished and grammatically elegant, but they don’t say very much. They make assumptions about the reader’s knowledge. They follow the formulas of good writing without the depth.
I know how difficult it can be to edit sharply across a 200-page manuscript. But editorial exhaustion shouldn’t show. The last few chapters should receive the same careful review as the first few. Yet here, an entire story is repeated, almost verbatim.
I want to be clear: There’s no sin in using AI to assist a big writing project. It’s invaluable for organizing thoughts and crafting first drafts.
But for a book written by an authority of Kass’s caliber, I wanted more of his unique voice. It was distracting to weed through the familiar voice of ChatGPT, and I found myself wondering whose ideas I was reading.
The first half of The Next Renaissance is absolutely worth reading. I’d even go so far as to say it’s essential.
The second half contains useful ideas, but it doesn’t carry the same weight. And that contrast highlights the very thing the book is about: the difference between intelligence and true authority.
