Wharton Ramps Up AI Investments
Credit: Barry Winiker / Getty Images- Wharton announced a new initiative focused on boosting AI research and student instruction.
- All full-time and executive master of business administration (MBA) students at the Wharton School will soon have access to ChatGPT Enterprise licenses as the business school invests in AI, according to an announcement.
- A growing number of top business schools have incorporated AI into their curriculum.
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is scaling up its investments in artificial intelligence (AI) technology to prepare students for the future of business.
Wharton will set up two funds to bolster AI research and instruction as part of its new Wharton AI and Analytics Initiative. The AI Research Fund will support faculty business research, and the Education Innovation Fund will help faculty incorporate AI into their curriculum.
“Artificial intelligence is poised to fundamentally transform every sector of business and society, and the world needs reliable, evidence-based insights about its practical and responsible use today,” Wharton School Dean Erika James said in a press release.
James said Wharton, with its wide-ranging resources and national reputation, is uniquely positioned to tackle AI in business education.
The new Wharton initiative focuses on four key areas:
- Applying AI to industry challenges and other real-world issues
- Using AI for innovation and new discoveries
- Incorporating AI into curriculum
- Using AI “for good, from cutting-edge research to inclusive education initiatives”
“Business schools have a crucial role to play in understanding and advancing an AI-enabled world, and no school is better positioned to examine the multi-faceted dimensions of this evolving phenomenon than Wharton,”James said.
“That’s why we are investing heavily in areas that allow our faculty to navigate the avalanche of interrelated issues AI has broached.”
All full-time and executive master of business administration (MBA) students at the Wharton School will soon have access to ChatGPT Enterprise licenses as the business school invests in AI, according to an announcement.
The school is also building a new open-source learning platform featuring “tailored AI educational experiences,” according to the release.
Wharton’s investment in AI comes as a growing number of business schools are incorporating the high-demand technology into their curricula.
The American University Kogod School of Business announced earlier this year it would incorporate AI and machine learning into its curriculum starting in the fall. This will include new course offerings for students, partnerships with businesses, and AI instruction requirements at the school.
“Artificial intelligence is here to stay, and business students need to be prepared to utilize applications for generative AI on day one of their future jobs,” Kogod Dean David Marchick said in a press release.
The W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University (ASU) plans to launch a master of science in artificial intelligence in business (MS-AIB) program. This reflects a wider focus on AI across the institution: ASU became the first higher education institution to partner with ChatGPT creator OpenAI earlier this year.