Publications

July 2024
Case

Replika AI: Alleviating Loneliness (A)

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Shweta Bagai

Eugenia Kuyda launched Replika AI in 2017 as an empathetic digital companion to combat loneliness and provide emotional support. The platform surged in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, offering non-judgmental support to isolated users. By 2023, Replika boasted... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Ethics; Health Pandemics; AI and Machine Learning; Well-being; Technology Industry

2025
Working Paper

Global Evidence on Gender Gaps and Generative AI

By: Nicholas G. Otis, Solène Delecourt, Katelynn Cranney and Rembrand Koning

Generative AI has the potential to transform productivity and reduce inequality, but only if adopted broadly. In this paper, we show that recently identified gender gaps in generative AI use are nearly universal. Synthesizing data from 18 studies covering more than... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Gender; Equality and Inequality; Technology Adoption; Behavior

2024
Working Paper

Lessons from an App Update at Replika AI: Identity Discontinuity in Human-AI Relationships

By: Julian De Freitas, Noah Castelo, Ahmet Uğuralp and Zeliha Uğuralp

Can consumers form deep emotional bonds with AI and be vested in AI identities over time? We leverage a natural app-update event at Replika AI, a popular US-based AI companion, to shed light on these questions. We find that customers feel closer to their AI companion... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Welfare; Loss; Well-being; Identity; Perception; Relationships

SSRN

01 Mar 2018
What Do You Think?

Two Decades Later, is the 'New Economy' Finally Here?

potential for ecommerce growth in the country which relies (on) a lot of machine learning and AI the growth rate through the new economy prospects is just starting to take off here in Bangladesh.” Jacob... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

October 2019
Case

Feeling Machines: Emotion AI at Affectiva

By: Shane Greenstein and John Masko

In 2016, Affectiva—a Boston-based emotion AI software company with a long track record of building emotion-sensing software for market research—had attempted to expand into new verticals by releasing a mobile software development kit (SDK) that downloaders could adapt... View Details

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Market Research; Business Model; Finance; Revenue; Decision Making; Risk and Uncertainty; Market Entry and Exit; Applications and Software; AI and Machine Learning; Information Technology Industry; Auto Industry; United States

02 Oct 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 2, 2018

presents researchers with the possibility of using large and new datasets related to text and image repositories. In this paper, we make a methodological contribution to strategy research by documenting a novel synthesis of two machine... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

08 May 2015
News

Ubiquitous digital connectivity is now essential to competitiveness

rethink their business models to identify new opportunities for creating and capturing value. The fundamental properties of digital technology (exact replication infinite times at zero marginal costs), along with cloud computing, have... View Details

March 27, 2025
Article

How One Company Used AI to Broaden Its Customer Base

By: Sunil Gupta and Frank V. Cespedes

The software company SAP successfully leveraged AI tools to begin selling to the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) market, which had previously been uneconomical for its in-person sales approach. By mapping the customer journey and deploying over 40 AI tools, SAP... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Sales; Business Strategy; Market Entry and Exit

2024
Working Paper

The Wade Test: Generative AI and CEO Communication

By: Prithwiraj Choudhury, Bart S. Vanneste and Amirhossein Zohrehvand

Can generative artificial intelligence (AI) transform the role of the CEO by effectively automating CEO communication? This study investigates whether AI can mimic a human CEO and whether employees’ perception of the communication’s source matter. In a field... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; AI and Machine Learning; Perception; Communication

28 May 2019
News

Ask the Expert: In Security

attack a machine learning model and cause a malfunction. Data scientists can use it as an elegant tool to better understand areas of vulnerability and proactively correct a... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; cybersecurity

01 Sep 2020
News

Road Work

world where business content and financial products and services will be integrated seamlessly into the member experience—all driven by unique user data and machine learning models.”It’s a development that... View Details

Keywords: banking; LatinX; small businesses; COVID-19; Finance

March 2025
Case

Xfund and Sam Altman: Finding Harvard’s Best Generative AI Founders

By: Suraj Srinivasan

On May 1, 2024, Xfund Managing Partners Patrick Chung and Brandon Farwell, hosted a high-stakes venture pitch session designed to select one startup for a minimum $100,000 investment. This “Xperiment Stake” competition, dedicated to startups in the Generative AI... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Venture Capital; Innovation Leadership; Technological Innovation; Technology Industry; United States

Forthcoming
Article

Human-Algorithm Collaboration with Private Information: Naïve Advice Weighting Behavior and Mitigation

By: Maya Balakrishnan, Kris Ferreira and Jordan Tong

Even if algorithms make better predictions than humans on average, humans may sometimes have private information which an algorithm does not have access to that can improve performance. How can we help humans effectively use and adjust recommendations made by... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Analytics and Data Science; Forecasting and Prediction; Digital Marketing

June 2017
Teaching Note

IBM Transforming, 2012–2016: Ginni Rometty Steers Watson

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Jonathan Cohen

Ginni Rometty, who became IBM CEO in 2012, led efforts to transform the company around cognitive computing and the AI platform Watson. This Teaching Note helps instructors understand and teach the Harvard Business School case “IBM Transforming, 2012–2016: Ginni Rometty... View Details

Keywords: Digital; Technological Change; Artificial Intelligence; Data; IBM; Watson; Internet Of Things; Innovation and Invention; Management; Sales; Information Technology; Technological Innovation; Transformation; AI and Machine Learning

September 2024 (Revised January 2025)
Exercise

Building an AI First Snack Company: A Hands-on Generative AI Exercise

By: Iavor I. Bojinov

Although the term 'Generative AI' (GenAI) is widely recognized, its practical application in daily workflows has yet to be understood. This exercise introduces students to GenAI tools, demonstrating how they can be seamlessly integrated into professional work practices... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Technology Adoption; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Brands and Branding

01 Dec 2020
News

AI Enhances Diagnostic Care

changing the field of medicine. In the past several decades, the growing use of artificial intelligence in the health care sector has made it possible for computer systems and diagnostic machines to learn... View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Gillespie

December 2024 (Revised January 2025)
Technical Note

A Guide to the Vocabulary, Evolution, and Impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

By: Shane Greenstein, Nathaniel Lovin, Scott Wallsten, Kerry Herman and Susan Pinckney

A note on the vocabulary, evolution, and impact of AI. View Details

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Software; AI and Machine Learning; Technology Adoption; Technological Innovation; Technology Industry

March 2024
Teaching Note

'Storrowed': A Generative AI Exercise

By: Mitchell Weiss

Teaching Note for HBS Exercise No. 824-188. “Storrowed” is an exercise to help participants raise their proficiency with generative AI. It begins by highlighting a problem: trucks getting wedged underneath bridges in Boston, Massachusetts on the city’s Storrow Drive.... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Invention; Government Administration; Transportation Industry; Public Administration Industry