When I worked as a data scientist at LinkedIn in 2018 and 2019, AI was of interest only to a small team of people in the data science organization with advanced degrees in statistics or computer science. AI—and especially its newest star, generative AI—is now a central theme in corporate boardrooms, leadership discussions, and casual exchanges among employees eager to supercharge their productivity. The topic is so fundamental that “Data Science for Managers,” a course I helped create to teach MBA students how to develop, leverage, and manage AI, is now a first-year requirement at Harvard Business School.
A version of this article appeared in the November–December 2023 issue of Harvard Business Review.