In this introductory lecture, Zack Kass – former head of Go‑to‑Market at OpenAI – outlines his AI‑for‑business course. He establishes credibility by recounting a 15‑year career that began accidentally in AI and culminated in building the teams that launched ChatGPT. Kass frames AI as the greatest business opportunity of a lifetime, describing two emerging leader archetypes: those who amplify impact with AI and those who risk being left behind. He illustrates AI’s leverage with a concrete case study where a three‑week, analyst‑heavy financial reporting process for a Fortune 500 company was reduced to minutes using ChatGPT, emphasizing that AI is about leverage, not just speed. The course is split into two parts: a historical and technical tour of AI (covering a century of evolution and the inner workings of models like GPT‑4 and Claude) to build AI literacy, and a practical section focused on core principles and an AI‑first mindset aimed at multiplying productivity and creativity. Kass stresses that mastery of tools is secondary to reshaping how one thinks and works, and that curiosity, not formal credentials, is the key asset. He urges early adoption, positioning AI as a transformative force comparable to the Internet or smartphones, and promises a competitive lifetime advantage for those who embrace it.
Chapters
Hi, I'm Zach Kass, the former head of Go to market at OpenAI. Welcome to my course on AI for business. The first thing you should know about AI is it's not a new phenomenon. In fact, I started my career in AI almost 15 years ago, basically by accident. The industry was very different back then. Over the last 15 years, I've been leading teams at some of the most prominent companies in the space. The latest one was OpenAI, where I joined the company when it was less than 100 employees. And I built the teams that would eventually reveal ChatGPT to the world. As head of Go to market, I guided Fortune 500 CEOs, tech pioneers, and global leaders through the best applications of this new technology. So the strategies I'm about to share aren't what you'll find in books or podcasts. They're the exact frameworks that changed how the world's most successful organizations operate. And after 15 years of working at the very frontier of AI, seeing its evolution, I can tell you with certainty this is the greatest business opportunity of your lifetime. Right now, we're seeing two kinds of business leaders emerging. Those who are using AI to amplify their impact, and those who risk getting left behind. So instead of getting caught up in the idea that AI is advancing too quickly, I'm here to help you see the opportunity. The real problem right now is that most businesses, perhaps yours, are not yet taking advantage of this technology because they lack the skills and critically, the mindset to start using it effectively. This creates an incredible demand for people who don't just know how to use AI, but are excited to do so. By the end of this course, my goal is that you will be one of those people. Let me share this story with you. In December 2022, amidst an incredible roadshow driven largely by the wildfire that ChatGPT created, I introduced ChatGPT to an executive of a Fortune 500 company. They had this grueling process. Teams of analysts manually reviewing financial reports, a three week process that involved countless back and forths, checking for errors, etc. It was obviously wasteful, but there was no clear way to do it better. When we sat down with them, after about 20 minutes, a solution engineer and I looked at each other and we said simply, I think we can do this in minutes with ChatGPT. Of course, a lot of people laughed. Other people were very skeptical. And the general consensus was that there was no way AI could handle something this complex. I enjoy this reaction because the bigger the disbelief, the more dramatic the transformation. It is so fun to watch people change their mind, especially on something like this. So we said, let us show you. We ran the reports through ChatGPT and three minutes later the entire analysis was done. Key insights extracted, everything organized perfectly and the room went silent. The CEO just stared at the screen before finally saying, if our competitors get this before we do. He didn't finish his sentence, but obviously he didn't have to. I still remember the look in his eyes as he realized what we all are eventually realizing. AI isn't about speed. It's about leverage. It's about completely transforming how we work, freeing us up to do the work that actually requires human attention. This course is divided into two sections. In the first section, we'll take a hundred year journey through AI's evolution from a science fiction fantasy to a technology used by billions. Along the way, we'll break down how models like GPT4 and Claude actually work. Do they think? Are they creative? What's going on inside their brain? My goal here is to make you AI literate. Because the people who understand AI's mechanics adopt it much faster and use it much more effectively. The second section is where things get practical. There we'll focus on the core principles of working with AI, all with one goal. Rewiring your brain to adopt an AI first mindset. If I do my job right, this section won't just make you better at using AI, it will help you become 10 times more productive and creative. The real power of AI isn't in mastering the tools and it's in transforming how you think, create and get things done. This course has no step by step tutorials, and that's for a good reason. I'm trying to train you to see AI as an extension of your own intelligence. You don't need to be a tech expert, you don't need a PhD or a background in AI. And quite honestly, I'm not sure that you need a college degree at all. What you need in this new world is curiosity and a desire to do great work smarter. This is your advantage. Whether you're a founder, a CEO, an operator, or simply someone looking for new levels of creativity and productivity. This course will transform how you operate. We are living through a transformation as profound as the rise of the Internet or the smartphone. But this time the shift is happening faster. The proliferation of AI is outpacing every any technology prior by an order of magnitude. AI is a force that is reshaping the entire world seemingly overnight. Right now, you have a rare window of opportunity. Understanding AI today will give you the ultimate competitive advantage for a lifetime. If you decide to become an early adopter, you'll open up yourself to new opportunities, an accelerated career, and if you want it, an unbelievable impact on the world. So I want to congratulate you for being here and thank you for choosing AI as a tool to accelerate your journey in this world. You are more ahead than you think you are. Let's get started.
