Ex-OpenAI Executive: AI Will Create Far More Winners Than Losers

Zack Kass, former head of go-to-market at OpenAI, pushed back on pessimistic narratives around artificial intelligence's economic impact during remarks at the Citi Macro Conference in Hong Kong on Monday. Kass, who has emerged as one of the more prominent voices on enterprise AI adoption since leaving OpenAI, told Bloomberg that while AI investment is still in early stages, the technology will ultimately benefit a broad range of industries and individuals rather than consolidating gains among a narrow few. "AI is going to make a lot of winners," Kass said from the conference sidelines. He declined to name specific companies or sectors but emphasized that businesses actively working to integrate AI now are positioning themselves ahead of competitors. Kass's comments come as investors and executives wrestle with how to allocate resources toward AI initiatives amid mixed early returns. Corporate AI spending has accelerated sharply over the past two years, with cloud providers and enterprise software vendors racing to embed AI across product offerings. The former OpenAI executive has been a fixture on the speaking circuit since departing the company, offering guidance to enterprises on how to operationalize AI beyond pilot programs. His optimistic framing aligns with the broader bet that AI productivity gains will eventually show up across company balance sheets.