MIT-AI - Presentations

Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Business Strategy

ONLINE SHORT COURSE

Embrace AI as an integrative tool for managing your business.

6 weeks, excluding 1 week orientation.

6–8 hours of self-paced learning per week, entirely online

Next start date: 29 Jan 2025

Call:  +1 617 997 4979

ABOUT THIS COURSE

Artificial intelligence (AI) has advanced from an unknown force to a universally recognized opportunity. With its innovative potential for business and society no longer being predicted but rather realized, business leaders need to attain a practical grounding in AI and its business applications in order to efficiently take advantage of it and navigate the challenges associated with its implementation.

This online program, designed by the MIT Sloan School of Management and the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), equips you with the knowledge needed to transform your organization into an innovative, efficient, and sustainable business of the future.

Through an engaging mix of key technologies including predictive and generative AI, business insights, case examples, and your own business-focused project, you’ll explore the reality of central AI technologies and how they can be harnessed to support your business needs. Focusing on machine learning, natural language processing, robotics, and generative AI tools, the program helps you understand the implications of these AI technologies for business strategy, as well as the economic, societal, and business implementation issues they raise. MIT expert instructors examine how AI will complement and strengthen our workforce rather than just eliminate jobs. Additionally, the program will emphasize how the collective intelligence of people and computers together can solve business problems that not long ago were considered impossible.

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WHAT THIS PROGRAM COVERS

This six-week online program presents you with a foundational understanding of AI and where we are today, and how we got here.

You’ll gain a practical introduction to these key AI technologies and their business implications, equipping you with the knowledge and confidence to transform your organization by converting uncertainties regarding AI into impactful opportunities for business growth. The course does not assume any particular technological background — you’ll focus on the organizational and managerial implications of these technologies and how they can be applied in the workplace, rather than on their technical dimensions.

The program has been updated to cover the boom in predictive and generative AI tools such as ChatGPT. You’ll learn how generative AI works and its training processes, along with insights into its impact across various industries and business applications. You’ll also explore the efficiency of training and fine-tuning processes, the debate on general intelligence, and the importance of human involvement and caution in using these AI tools effectively.

A key element of the course will be an individual project where you develop a plan for how AI could be used in your own organization or some other business context of your choice. Upon completion of the program, you’ll be ready to apply your knowledge to support informed strategic decision making around the use of key AI technologies in your business.

A POWERFUL COLLABORATION

MIT Sloan and MIT CSAIL are collaborating with online education provider GetSmarter to create a new class of learning experience — one that is higher-touch, intimate, and personalized for the working professional.

ABOUT MIT SLOAN

The MIT Sloan School of Management is one of the world’s leading business schools, emphasizing innovation in practice and research, with a mission to develop principled, innovative leaders who improve the world, and to generate ideas that advance management practice. The school’s focus on action learning means that students are able to apply concepts learned in the classroom to real-world business settings. Through its collaborative spirit, MIT Sloan welcomes and celebrates diverse viewpoints, creating an environment where new ideas grow and thrive.

ABOUT MIT SLOAN EXECUTIVE EDUCATION

 
MIT Sloan Executive Education offers non-degree executive programs led by MIT Sloan faculty to provide business professionals from around the world with a targeted and flexible means to advance their career development goals and position their organizations for future growth. By collaborating with GetSmarter, a leader in online education, MIT Sloan Executive Education is able to broaden access to its on-campus offerings in a collaborative and engaging format that stays true to the quality of MIT Sloan and MIT as a whole.

ABOUT MIT CSAIL

The MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) is the largest research laboratory at MIT and one of the world’s most important centers of information technology research, with an AI Lab founded in 1959. MIT CSAIL believes that computation is the key to creating a successful future. Members focus on the future of computing, on making computers more capable, and developing the science and capabilities of computing through advances in all aspects of computer science, including the theory of computation, systems research, and artificial intelligence.

ABOUT GETSMARTER

GetSmarter, a 2U, Inc. brand, collaborates with the world's leading universities and institutions to select, design, and deliver premium online short courses with a data-driven focus on learning gain.

Technology meets academic rigor in GetSmarter’s people-mediated model, which enables lifelong learners across the globe to obtain industry-relevant skills that are recognized by the world’s most reputable academic institutions.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN

You’ll be welcomed to the program and begin connecting with fellow participants, while exploring the navigation and tools of your Online Campus. Be alerted to key milestones in the learning path, and review how your results will be calculated and distributed.

You’ll be required to complete your participant profile and submit a digital copy of your passport/identity document.

Please note that module titles and their contents are subject to change during program development.

Learn about the history of AI, its role in collective intelligence, and how to gain strategic advantage.

  • Recognize how this program could help you to create a more intelligent organization
  • Define AI and differentiate between narrow and general AI
  • Outline the history of AI from both a technical and social perspective
  • Articulate how computers and people can be combined to foster collective intelligence
  • Apply a framework for realizing strategic advantage in business
  • Analyze an organization's use of technologies in support of its strategy

Explore machine learning and how it can be applied in a business context to gain strategic advantage.

  • Review the key features of machine learning as a transformative technology
  • Illustrate how machine learning is currently deployed in industries and across functions
  • Investigate how an organization can use machine learning to achieve cost leadership, differentiation, or focus
  • Decide if an application of machine learning is appropriate in an organization
  • Evaluate the strategic, technical, and other aspects of an application of machine learning

Explore generative AI and how it can be applied in a business context to gain strategic advantage.

  • Review the key features of generative AI as a transformative technology
  • Illustrate how generative AI is currently deployed in industries and across functions
  • Investigate how an organization can use generative AI to achieve cost leadership, differentiation, or focus
  • Decide if an application of generative AI is appropriate in an organization
  • Evaluate the strategic, technical, and other aspects of an application or generative AI

Explore robotics and how robots can be used in a business context to gain strategic advantage.

  • Review the core features of robotics as a transformative technology
  • Illustrate how robots are currently deployed in various industries and across functions
  • Investigate how an organization can use robotics to achieve cost leadership, differentiation, or focus
  • Decide if an application of robotics is appropriate in an organization
  • Evaluate the strategic, technical, and other aspects of an application of robotics

Consider the merits of the human-machine partnership and any ethical concerns that may arise from the use of AI in an organization.

  • Extend your knowledge of AI technologies to other types of AI
  • Articulate the broader implications of AI for business and society
  • Analyze the impact of AI on the future of work
  • Debate the ethical concerns entailed within the adoption of AI
  • Assess the risks and benefits of the human-machine partnership

Develop a roadmap for using AI, and consider the future of your organization with AI technologies.

  • Predict the rate of future progress of AI
  • Articulate how people can connect to create more intelligent organizations
  • Propose an initiative for a specific business application of AI
  • Produce a roadmap for a business to gain strategic advantage through the use of AI
  • Reflect on the key outcomes of this program

WHO SHOULD TAKE THIS COURSE

This program is designed to prepare those with strategic decision-making responsibilities — such as aspiring managers, current managers, and high-level executives — to effectively analyze, articulate, and apply key AI management and leadership insights in their work and that of their teams and organizations.

If you’re an experienced business person in a middle management position or higher, or you’re able to have an influence on decision-making in your role, this program will be relevant. Whether you’re a manager leading team productivity and looking for a way to unlock new opportunities; a business executive driving innovation, new product development, and market differentiation; a data analyst using or wanting to use AI to understand customer behavior; a marketing and sales specialist producing value-added content to engage with customers; or a data scientist looking to understand business applications when developing AI programs, this program will benefit your work.

THIS PROGRAM IS FOR YOU IF YOU WANT TO:

OPTIMIZE YOUR BUSINESS
OPTIMIZE YOUR BUSINESS

Understand the potential of AI and its business applications in order to innovate your work and transform your organization.

PIONEER AI INTEGRATION
PIONEER AI INTEGRATION

Focus on the key AI technologies of machine learning, robotics, natural language processing, and generative AI, and learn to lead AI integration in your business.

VALIDATE YOUR KNOWLEDGE
VALIDATE YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Gain proof of your knowledge in the form of a digital certificate of completion from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Earn a certificate of completion from MIT Sloan

This program offers you the opportunity to earn a digital certificate of completion from one of the world’s leading business schools — the MIT Sloan School of Management. This program also counts toward an MIT Sloan Executive Certificate, which you can earn upon completion of four programs where at least three of the four come from your chosen certificate track and at least one is completed in person. Find full details here.

Completion is based on a series of practical online assignments. In order to be issued with a digital certificate you’ll need to meet the requirements outlined in the course handbook. The handbook will be made available to you as soon as you begin the program.

Your certificate will be issued in your legal name and sent to you digitally upon successful completion of the program, as per the stipulated requirements.

WHO YOU’LL LEARN FROM

These subject matter experts from MIT Sloan and MIT CSAIL guide the program design and appear in a number of course videos, along with a variety of industry professionals.

YOUR FACULTY DIRECTORS

Thomas Malone

Thomas Malone

Patrick J McGovern (1959) Professor of Management, MIT Sloan School of Management; Founding Director, MIT Center for Collective Intelligence

Malone is a professor of information technology and organizational studies at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and his research focuses on how new organizations can be designed to take advantage of the possibilities provided by information technology.

He has published his groundbreaking research in the book The Future of Work and in over 100 articles, research papers, and book chapters. His newest book, Superminds, appeared in May 2018. He holds 11 patents, co-founded three software companies, and is quoted in numerous publications such as Fortune, the New York Times, and Wired.

Malone holds a BA from Rice University, two master’s degrees and a PhD from Stanford University, as well as degrees in applied mathematics, engineering-economic systems, and psychology.

Daniela Rus

Daniela Rus

Director, MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL)

Rus is the Andrew (1956) and Erna Viterbi Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Director of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at MIT. She serves as the director of the Toyota-CSAIL Joint Research Center and is a member of the science advisory board of the Toyota Research Institute.

Rus’ research interests are in robotics, mobile computing, and data science. Rus is a Class of 2002 MacArthur Fellow, a fellow of ACM, AAAI and IEEE, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is the recipient of the 2017 Engelberger Robotics Award from the Robotics Industries Association. She earned her PhD in computer science from Cornell University.

Alex Pentland

MIT FACULTY AND INDUSTRY EXPERT

Alex Pentland

Toshiba Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, MIT Media Lab

Initiative, which uses network science to access and change real-world human behavior. He also holds a triple appointment at MIT in media arts and sciences, engineering systems division, and with the MIT Sloan School of Management.

In 2012, Forbes named him as one of the “seven most powerful data scientists in the world”, along with the founders of Google and the CTO of the United States. He served as a member of the advisory boards for Google, Nissan, Telefónica, Tencent, and a variety of start-up firms, and has co-led the World Economic Forum Big Data and Personal Data initiatives.

Iyad Rahwan

MIT FACULTY AND INDUSTRY EXPERT

Iyad Rahwan

Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, MIT Media Lab

Rahwan is the AT&T Career Development Professor and an associate professor of Media Arts and Sciences at the MIT Media Lab, where he leads the Scalable Cooperation group. Rahwan holds a PhD from the University of Melbourne, Australia, and is an affiliate faculty at the MIT Institute of Data, Systems and Society (IDSS).

Rahwan’s work lies at the intersection of the computer and social sciences, with a focus on collective intelligence, large-scale cooperation, and the social aspects of artificial intelligence. His work has appeared in major academic journals, including Science and PNAS, and features regularly in major media outlets, including the New York Times, The Economist, and the Wall Street Journal.

Tessa Lau

MIT FACULTY AND INDUSTRY EXPERT

Tessa Lau

CTO and Chief Robot Whisperer, Saviok

Lau is CTO and chief robot whisperer at Savioke, where she's creating a new generation of autonomous service robots. Previously, Lau was a research scientist at Willow Garage, where she led an effort to develop simple interfaces for personal robots. She also spent 11 years at IBM Research, developing end-user programming systems for enterprises.

More generally, Lau's research is in the area of intelligent user interfaces: combining techniques from artificial intelligence and human-computer interaction to create systems that enhance human productivity and creativity. She served on the board of CRA-W, the CRA committee on the status of women in computing research. She holds a PhD in computer science from the University of Washington.

Andrew Lo

MIT FACULTY AND INDUSTRY EXPERT

Andrew Lo

Director of the Laboratory for Financial Engineering, MIT Sloan School of Management

Lo is the Charles E. and Susan T. Harris Professor, a professor of finance, and the director of the Laboratory for Financial Engineering at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Lo holds a BA in economics from Yale University as well as an AM and a PhD in economics from Harvard University.

His current research falls into four areas: evolutionary models of behavior and adaptive markets, systemic risk, the dynamics of the hedge funds industry, and healthcare finance. Lo has published numerous articles in finance and economics journals; is a published author, and is currently an associate editor of — among others — the Financial Analysts Journal and the Journal of Portfolio Management.

Randall Davis

MIT FACULTY AND INDUSTRY EXPERT

Randall Davis

Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, MIT

Davis received his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth, graduating summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa in 1970, and received a PhD from Stanford in artificial intelligence in 1976. He has served as associate director of MIT's Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (1993-1998), as research director of CSAIL (2003-2007), and as associate director of CSAIL (2012-2014).

Davis has been a seminal contributor to the fields of knowledge-based systems and human-computer interaction. He and his research group are developing advanced tools that permit natural multimodal interaction with computers by creating software that understands users as they sketch, gesture, and talk. He is a published author and has served on the Scientific Advisory Board of the U.S. Air Force.

Frank Levy

MIT FACULTY AND INDUSTRY EXPERT

Frank Levy

Professor Emeritus of Urban Economics, MIT DUSP

Levy is an economist — “retired from teaching and department meetings but not much else.” He works on the impact computers have on jobs and living standards, and on the economics of radiology. In 2015, Levy concluded a three-year term co-organizing the CSAIL/Economist Seminar series at MIT, bringing together computer scientists and economists to better understand computerized work. He has also co-organized the De Lange Conference on the Future of Work at Rice University.

Before coming to MIT in 1992, Levy taught at Cal-Berkeley, the University of Maryland at College Park, and worked at the Urban Institute in Washington DC. He is currently a research associate in the Department of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School and an affiliate faculty member at Duke University Robotics Group.

David Autor

MIT FACULTY AND INDUSTRY EXPERT

David Autor

Ford Professor of Economics and Associate Head, MIT Economics

Autor is a professor and associate department head of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Economics. He is also a faculty research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Economic Perspectives (published by the American Economic Association). He has served on the board of editors at the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics and the Journal of Labor Economics.

Autor received a BA in psychology from Tufts University in 1989 and a PhD in public policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government in 1999. His current fields of specialization include human capital and earnings inequality, labor market impacts of technological change and globalization, disability insurance and labor supply, and temporary help and other intermediated work arrangements.

Dario Gil

MIT FACULTY AND INDUSTRY EXPERT

Dario Gil

Vice President of Artificial Intelligence and of Quantum Computing, IBM Research

Gil is a leading technologist and senior executive at IBM. He is responsible for IBM's artificial intelligence research efforts and their commercial quantum computing program (IBM Q).

Prior to his current position, Gil was the VP of Science and Solutions, directing a global organization of 1,500 researchers across 12 laboratories with a broad portfolio of activities spanning the physical sciences, mathematical sciences, and industry solutions based on AI, IoT, blockchain and quantum technologies. His research results have appeared in over 20 international journals and conferences and he is the author of numerous patents. He received his PhD in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT.

Regina Barzilay

MIT FACULTY AND INDUSTRY EXPERT

Regina Barzilay

Delta Electronics Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, MIT

Barzilay is a Delta Electronics Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and a member of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT. Her research interests are in natural language processing, and applications of deep learning to chemistry and oncology.

She is a recipient of various awards, including the NSF Career Award, the MIT Technology Review TR-35 Award, Microsoft Faculty Fellowship and several Best Paper Awards at NAACL and ACL. In 2017, she was awarded MacArthur Fellowship. Regina received her PhD in computer science from Columbia University, and spent a year as a post-doc at Cornell University.

Patrick Winston

MIT FACULTY AND INDUSTRY EXPERT

Patrick Winston

Ford Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science, MIT

Winston’s research focuses on story understanding and how it contributes to human intelligence. His group’s Genesis system reads simple stories, answers and asks questions, identifies concepts, retells persuasively, educates, summarizes, compares, and authors.

Winston is a co-founder of Ascent Technology, Inc., which produces sophisticated scheduling, resource allocation, schedule recovery, and workforce management applications, all enabled by AI technology and in use throughout the world in major airports.

Winston’s research is conducted in the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). He served as Director of the MIT Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, a predecessor of CSAIL, for 25 years.

Tommi Jaakkola

MIT FACULTY AND INDUSTRY EXPERT

Tommi Jaakkola

Thomas Siebel Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society, MIT

Jaakkola is the Thomas Siebel Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society at MIT, and a member of the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. He received a MSc in theoretical physics from Helsinki University of Technology, Finland, and a PhD from MIT in computational neuroscience.

He joined the MIT faculty late 1998. His research focuses on inferential and estimation questions in complex, large-scale combinatorial modeling tasks, especially problems with predominantly incomplete data. On the applied side, his work focuses on machine learning questions appearing in natural language processing, recommender systems, and computational biology. He has received several awards for his publications.

HOW YOU’LL LEARN

Every course is broken down into manageable, weekly modules, designed to accelerate your learning process through diverse learning activities:

  • Work through your downloadable and online instructional material
  • Interact with your peers and learning facilitators through weekly class-wide forums and reviewed small group discussions
  • Enjoy a wide range of interactive content, including video lectures, infographics, live polls, and more
  • Investigate rich, real-world case studies
  • Apply what you learn each week to quizzes and ongoing project submissions, culminating in the creation of your own business road map for AI integration

YOUR SUCCESS TEAM

GetSmarter, with whom MIT Sloan and MIT CSAIL are collaborating to deliver this online program, provides a personalized approach to online education that ensures you’re supported throughout your learning journey.

HEAD LEARNING FACILITATOR
HEAD LEARNING FACILITATOR

A subject expert from GetSmarter, approved by the university, will guide you through learning-related challenges.

SUCCESS ADVISER
SUCCESS ADVISER

Your one-on-one support at GetSmarter, available during university hours (9a.m.–5p.m. EST) to address technical or administrative questions.

GLOBAL SUCCESS TEAM
GLOBAL SUCCESS TEAM

This team from GetSmarter is available 24/7 to solve your tech-related queries and concerns.

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TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

BASIC REQUIREMENTS

In order to complete this program, you’ll need a current email account and access to a computer and the internet, as well as a PDF Reader. You may need to view Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, and read and create documents in Microsoft Word or Excel.

BROWSER REQUIREMENTS

We recommend that you use Google Chrome as your internet browser when accessing the Online Campus. Although this is not a requirement, we have found that this browser performs best for ease of access to — course material. This browser can be downloaded here.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Certain courses may require additional software and resources. These additional software and resource requirements will be communicated to you upon registration and/or at the beginning of the program. Please note that Google, Vimeo, and YouTube may be used in our course delivery, and if these services are blocked in your jurisdiction, you may have difficulty in accessing course content. Please check with an Enrolment Adviser before registering for this program if you have any concerns about this affecting your experience with the Online Campus.