The Revenge of the Renaissance Thinkers

Why interdisciplinary, human-first builders will define the new AI economy

“This is really the year for the social sciences hacker”

- Mustafa Suleyman, CEO of Microsoft AI

When I first joined Harvard Innovation Labs, I felt like an outsider. I wasn’t the typical founder. I wasn’t an engineer building the next big SaaS product or a CS whiz with a YC application draft in my back pocket.

I was a PhD candidate in the humanities — a former ballerina, nonprofit founder, public art commissioner, corporate girlie, policy strategist, scientist, and educator.

A true Renaissance thinker.

But they didn’t make me feel like an outsider.
Because at the Labs, they encouraged me to believe this:
If you can see a problem, you can build the solution.

That’s stayed with me. Because here’s the truth: the future won’t be built by specialists alone.
It will be built by interdisciplinary, mission-driven, human-first thinkers who refuse to be put in a box.

The new AI economy is a turning point — not just for technology, but for who gets to shape it.

---

A New Kind of Builder Is Rising

For decades, liberal arts graduates and interdisciplinary minds were told to step aside.
Tech was for the engineers. Innovation was for the people who could code.
And if you couldn’t build it, you couldn’t change it.

But AI has leveled the playing field.

Now, the ability to ask better questions is just as important as the ability to write better code.
Now, creativity, ethics, imagination, and systems thinking are back in the spotlight.
Now, people like me — people like you — are no longer on the sidelines.

This is the revenge of the Renaissance thinkers.

We are the people who’ve spent our lives thinking across disciplines, genres, and ideologies.
We are the ones who see the full picture, not just the feature set.
We are the ones who will lead not with speed, but with vision.
Because we’ve always believed something tech forgot:
Technology should lead to greater freedom, not more bondage.

We're Redefining Think Tanks

I’m reimagining what

Analog Social

can become.
Not just a company. Not just a wellness brand.
But a radically human think tank for the AI age.

A movement that gives Renaissance thinkers a place to design new systems, create new careers, and build the next wave of human-first startups.

Where solo builders, generalists, artists, philosophers, and scientists can gather to solve the deepest, thorniest problems of our time.
Where the startup ecosystem no longer rewards burnout and bravado — but thoughtfulness, care, and clarity.

Because we’re not here to mimic what’s already broken.
We’re here to reimagine the entire thing.

---

The Future Won’t Belong to the Loudest Voice

It will belong to those who:

• Can build slowly and sustainably

• Can bridge disciplines with ease

• Can bring both rigor and soul to their work

• Can think, not just ship

• Can lead without dehumanizing

I’m not interested in the next unicorn.

I’m interested in creating a new human standard for how we build —
Companies.
Technologies.
Communities.
Careers.

I’m not interested in perpetuating anxiety about AI replacing us.
I’m interested in empowering people to create new roles, new paths, new solutions.

The AI economy isn’t the end.
It’s the beginning — if we play a role in shaping it, instead of letting the incumbents shape it for us.

---

The Renaissance Is Now

So here’s my invitation:

To the underdogs. The generalists. The misfits. The slow thinkers. The ones who read widely and dream wildly.

You are not too late.
You are right on time.

The revenge of the Renaissance thinkers has begun.
And this time, we’re building the future.

Not for domination.
But for liberation.
For beauty.
For depth.
For humanness.

Let’s go.

- Shae

Check out the latest video in my series Critical Thinking in the Age of AI

p.s. I'm launching Analog Intelligence — a new online community for deep thinkers, solo founders, and interdisciplinary rebels building with purpose. Inside, you’ll find curated resources, tools to help you build your Human OS, and a private space to connect with people who are designing solutions for their communities in the new AI economy.

Stay tuned for more info!