Love Conquers Fear: The Last Barrier to Abundance Is Our Own Fear | Brett Hurt
Brett Hurt returns to Austin Next for the fourth time, more than any guest in the show's history, to argue that the hardest problem in front of us is psychological. Abundance is already on a clear technological path, and the thing most likely to stop us is the fear center we carried off the savannah.
He walks through the four technologies he calls the Superfecta: AI, robotics, quantum computing, and brain-computer interfaces, and why they land together rather than in sequence. The stakes are the Great Filter and to make it through to abundance or destroy ourselves. His book lands June 23, and this conversation is the argument it rests on.
Agenda
- 0:00 Love is hard, fear is hijacked
- 10:21 Cooked food and broken business models
- 18:04 Mocktails, birth rates, and Bhutan
- 25:52 Moonshots and the James Webb sublime
- 30:42 Why aliens would be benevolent
- 36:13 The Superfecta changes everything
- 41:52 Capitalism, Chad, and abundance
- 51:40 Old Austin, wizards, and prophets
- 58:33 The nuclear math nobody wants
- 1:02:37 How the podcast made him hopeful
- 1:11:09 Open source wins the next hinge
Guest Bio & Links
Brett Hurt: X, LinkedIn, Love Conquers Fear Podcast
Love Conquers Fear: Humanity, AI, and the Age of Abundance for All
Brett Hurt is a serial tech entrepreneur, investor, and author. He works at the intersection of AI, leadership, and human values focusing on how society can harness exponential technologies with courage, ethics, and unity.
Hurt most recently co-founded and led data-dot-world, which was acquired by ServiceNow on July 7, 2025. He previously co-founded Bazaarvoice (unicorn IPO) and Coremetrics (acquired by IBM). He also co-leads Hurt Family Investments, which is in 150 startups (12 unicorns) and 50 VC funds. He was named Austin’s Best CEO (Legacy Award) and is also an Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellow.
Through his Love Conquers Fear holding company, platform, and podcast, Hurt explores how AI and emerging technologies can either amplify fear or help create broad-based human flourishing to eventually reach the Age of Abundance for All. Based in Austin, he’s the author of three books and host of the Love Conquers Fear podcast, which has 60 episodes and counting.
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Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
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