In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a necessity for businesses striving to stay competitive. However, the understanding of AI within the business and MBA communities often oscillate between apprehension and over-enthusiasm. To navigate this terrain effectively, a balanced and pragmatic approach is imperative and that is where Georgetown University comes in. Georgetown sits in the perfect place, Washington DC, where the discourse and policy that will influence businesses’ use of AI is taking place. Professors such as Professor Alberto Rossi and Professor Nicholas Lovegrove are two such advocates.
Professor Alberto Rossi, is the Director of the AI, Analytics, and Future of Work Initiative at Georgetown University, and a Visiting Fellow on Economic Studies at The Brookings Institution, Center on Regulation and Markets. The initiative was started in 2021 at the McDonough School of Business before chatgpt brought AI to the mainstream. According to Professor Rossi, the initiative began to bring students up to speed with innovation.
“If we want to prepare the students of tomorrow we need to prepare them with these tools, an analytics approach to decision making.”
AI: A NEXT GENERATION SPREADSHEET
Alberto Rossi
Through research, convening, and education, the initiative informs business leaders, policymakers, and academics on how to devise solutions that prioritize the most vulnerable members of society and foster the common good. The Georgetown initiative utilizes its rich tradition, global orientation, and access to policymakers in Washington, D.C., alongside insights from an advisory group of technology visionaries. Its aim is to develop innovative solutions for three focus areas: transforming the economy, society, and the nature of work. The vision of the initiative is to create a world where technological advances serve people, empowering individuals to improve their everyday lives and become more productive members of society.
I asked Professor Rossi how he thinks AI will change the MBA education landscape. His response was intriguing. He felt there was no point in stopping AI in the classroom, and compared it to using Excel or a calculator.
“We should help students use AI as soon as possible”, Rossi added. “It makes sense at the MBA level. People with an MBA for example, in investment banking, will start entering as middle managers, it’s going to become more and more important to be able to use these tools.”
MAKING AI REAL
Nicholas Lovegrove
Professor Lovegrove is also a pioneer of AI thought leadership at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business. Previously a senior leader at McKinsey for 30-years, he led two global practices and became the Managing Partner of the Washington, D.C. Office. In 2020, Professor Lovegrove decided that there needed to be a course on AI at the McDonough School. He started teaching the Intensive Learning Experience (ILE), AI, Analytics, & the Future of Work in the Spring of 2020, which has expanded beyond the MBA, to Flex MBA students, and undergraduates.
Second year MBA student, Dita Sahari, took Professor Lovegrove’s class which explores what it means to be proficient in AI and its use cases.
“Professor Lovegrove’s class provided me with in-depth knowledge on AI and Analytics’s massive potential to resolve critical business problems in the supply chain, manage talent in the workforce and improve bottom line performance,” Sahri told me. “Professor Lovegrove invited notable speakers, namely those from Apollo Global Management and McKinsey’s QuantumBlack, allowing the class to learn about invaluable perspectives on the impact of AI and Analytics on businesses and the workforce.”
Georgetown University
MAKING MCDONOUGH INTO AN AI HUB
Georgetown McDonough is unmatched in its ability to convene and engage practitioners and thought leaders in the policy and risk arena. As student’s, employers, and policy makers figure out what skills are needed to be of maximum use to be able to work in a space shaped by AI Professor Lovegrove envisions Georgetown as the hub of the conversation.
“We want to be seen as a place where people are thinking thoughtfully on how to use the new innovation and contain the risk, the alignment problem.”
In the era of AI, learning is a lifelong journey. The rapid pace of technological advancement necessitates continuous upskilling and reskilling for both business professionals and MBA graduates. Embracing a culture of lifelong learning enables individuals to stay ahead of the curve, adapt to emerging trends, and thrive in a dynamic business environment shaped by AI.
Emily Claytor
Bio: Emily Claytor graduated from Trinity College with a bachelor’s degree in English Literature, International Studies, and French. As Trinity’s Student Body President, she helped launch the College’s Strategic Planning Initiative, Summit. Emily formerly worked in the education technology sector and is in the process of pivoting her career to strategy consulting. She interned at Accenture in NYC, the summer of 2023, as a Summer Senior Strategy Consultant and is excited to be returning after graduation. She is a member of the Consortium and a second-year MBA candidate at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, with a focus on Sustainable Business. She is a board member for McDonough’s Graduate Women In Business Club, a Consulting Peer Advisor for McDonough’s Career Center, an Impact Investing Fellow for McDonough’s Business for Impact Initiative (BFI), as well as the student program lead for BFI’s Impact Investing Fellowship Program.
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