Can AI Provide Real Learning in Business School?

For many people, ChatGPT appeared out of nowhere – a startling wake-up call to the potential opportunities and threats of artificial intelligence (TO THE). But Zsolt Katona, a marketing professor at California Berkeley Haas School of Businesswas using a precursor, GPT-2, as early as 2019, both to teach technology leadership program executives about emerging technology and to write scripts for the videos that accompanied its course.

“It was a very tedious task to write scripts which I then read from a teleprompter,” recalls Katona. “I’ve never been good at writing nice-sounding lyrics, either in English or in my native Hungarian. But, even then, the generated scripts were pretty good.”

Katona has little time for ChatGPT naysayers. “I love it. It’s a fantastic educational tool,” she says. “I remember what it was like in high school when there was no internet. Just like Google Search for a previous generation, ChatGPT will become how people access knowledge in this generation It means we can be much more effective in education, including executive education.”

ChatGPT has caused waves because it uses AI generative linguistic models, allowing him to create new content based on the information provided in the form of text, images or audio. The quality of its output depends on the quality of the input it receives. Professor Christian Terwiesch at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School found that the chatbot was able to pass its school’s MBA final exam, scoring between B and B in its operations management class.

In his research paper, Terwiesch predicted ChatGPT’s “extraordinary ability to automate some of the skills of high-paying knowledge workers in general and knowledge workers in particular in jobs held by MBA graduates including analysts, managers, and consultants.”

Business school faculty are divided. Some worry that generative AI could turbocharge academic misconduct in ratings. Others, like Katona, are already planning to create class activities where students use ChatGPT to solve problems by asking questions or work in groups to analyze the accuracy of the information provided. At the very least, interactions with generative AI might be expected to pique participants’ curiosity and inspire them to ask more questions.

Specifically, in the context of executive education, generative AI could be used to create simulations that mimic real-world business interactions, such as negotiations and sales proposals. Executives could use AI as a “study buddy,” with whom they practice critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The conversational nature of ChatGPT responses means that participants can get instant personalized feedback beyond what a time-strapped faculty can offer.

Business simulations, idea generation and sparring are among the AI-powered activities going on at Inside of in France. Adjunct Professor Adrian Johnson has integrated ChatGPT into simulated negotiations, where executives bargain with AI.

Insead strategy professor Phanish Puranam runs organization design exercises, where students use ChatGPT to help generate a wide variety of possible solutions. He’s even considering using him as a sparring partner, with algorithms critiquing executives’ thoughts and asking for further explanations.

“Managers will have to see AI through a double filter in their own businesses,” says Prof Puranam. “Will it actually improve the way their organizations work and make them more or less human-centric?”

The Polimi Graduate School of Management in Milan uses an AI-powered tool called Flexa, developed with Microsoft, to provide career coaching. Participants use the platform to decide where and how to access a personalized learning path, starting with an assessment phase that evaluates which skills they need to improve. Flexa then uses artificial intelligence to create programs tailored to each user, who can access approximately 800,000 pieces of educational material, including self-paced digital courses, webinars, podcasts, articles and case studies.

“The technology has yet to evolve,” says Associate Dean Tommaso Agasisti. “We don’t have many tools yet to help executives work with real problems using AI, but we think it will happen very soon.”

Adaptive learning can target individuals, so students spend less time on things they already know

Alain Goudey, Associate Dean for Digital at Neoma Business School in France, he agrees. “AI can analyze individual students’ learning preferences, strengths, and weaknesses, enabling business schools to tailor their exercises, content, and curriculum accordingly.” The school uses artificial intelligence to identify slow and fast students, to help both reach their potential. “AI acts as a companion to students and will help faculty focus more on specific challenges or better learning experiences in the classroom,” she says.

Russell Miller, director of innovation for executive education at Imperial College School of Commerce in London, he is also keen to see schools using artificial intelligence to create non-linear adaptive learning targeted to student needs. He believes it can assess knowledge gaps and where further support is needed. “It would mean students spend less time working on things they already know,” he notes.

Generative AI can even help business schools deliver a more inclusive experience, suggests René Eber, lecturer at HEC Paris Management education. “English presentation skills are still a major obstacle for some attendees,” she says. “We have them use ChatGPT to tell a more compelling story when presenting their ideas in front of the judging panel, as well as written reports. It means a level playing field for participants from all backgrounds.”