Is This The Last Book Written By a Human?
🧠 Episode Summary
In this profound and thought-provoking conversation, Kate vanderVoort sits down with Jeff Burningham - tech entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and author of The Last Book Written by a Human: Becoming Wise in the Age of AI.
Jeff has built and invested in companies worth over $5 billion, co-founded Peak Capital Partners and Peak Ventures, and even ran for Governor of Utah. But today, he’s turning his attention to a far deeper question:
As machines become smarter, how do we become wiser?
This episode explores how technology, entrepreneurship, and spirituality intersect - and why the future of AI isn’t a technological problem but a human challenge.
Kate and Jeff unpack what it means to “rehumanise” business, how to bring consciousness into capitalism, and why our next evolution as leaders, parents, and humans depends on our ability to choose wisdom over speed, and connection over control.
Key Themes & Takeaways
1. AI as a Mirror for Humanity
Jeff calls AI a “cosmic mirror” - a reflection of who we are, individually and collectively. It shows us our creativity, our fear, our division, and our potential. Whether it becomes destructive or divine depends on how consciously we choose to use it.
2. From Human Doing to Human Being
After a career defined by relentless success - from billion-dollar real estate to early-stage tech investing - Jeff realised he was “addicted to doing.”
His governor’s race loss during COVID became an unlikely catalyst for rediscovering stillness, reflection, and being. He now believes AI can free us from repetitive tasks so we can return to what’s most human: connection, creativity, and love.
3. Conscious Capitalism & The “Old Game”
In The Last Book Written by a Human, Jeff challenges the “Old Game” of accumulation and competition. He argues that business leaders must rewrite success - shifting from extraction and ego to empathy and shared value. If AI becomes concentrated in the hands of a few, he warns, we all lose.
4. Teaching Wisdom in the Age of AI
As a teacher of entrepreneurship to thousands of students, Jeff emphasises that our next evolution isn’t about more intelligence - it’s about cultivating wisdom. He encourages leaders to slow down, reflect, and make space for stillness so that insight can emerge.
5. Faith, Philosophy, and the Human Journey
Drawing from his own spiritual path, Jeff discusses how religion and belief systems must evolve to prioritise connection over doctrine. He sees this as part of humanity’s “heroic journey” - one that AI can accelerate by reminding us who we truly are.
6. AI as a Call to Rehumanise
Both Jeff and Kate share a vision for a future where AI helps humanity flourish, not fragment. They agree that this moment is an inflection point - not just in technology, but in consciousness.
“AI isn’t a tech problem,” Jeff says, “it’s a human challenge. It deserves our best efforts - no matter the outcome.”
🌍 About Jeff Burningham
Jeff Burningham has started, run, or been an early investor in over a dozen companies in tech and real estate valued at over a billion dollars. He co-founded Peak Capital Partners, a real estate investment firm with over $5 billion in assets, and Peak Ventures, one of Utah’s premier early-stage VC firms.
He’s also a former candidate for Governor, a college lecturer, and a philanthropist committed to conscious entrepreneurship and human-centered leadership.
His latest book, The Last Book Written by a Human: Becoming Wise in the Age of AI, is a bold and inspiring exploration of what it means to stay human in an age of intelligent machines.
📘 Learn more at www.jeffburningham.com
Connect with Jeff:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Jeff-Burningham-100006547151318/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffburningham
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-burningham-15a01a7b/
