Leadership in the Era of Generative AI: A Glimpse into MIT's Innovative Class

In a new class at MIT titled "Leadership in the Era of Generative AI," led by Professor Melissa Webster and assisted by Ayodele Christian Owopetu and myself, students were immersed in a three-day hackathon. The challenge? To develop AI assistants capable of addressing leadership challenges using Stack AI as platform to build their solutions.

Following the Design Thinking Process

The class leveraged a design thinking approach, initiating with the "empathize" phase, where students delved into their experiences to identify pain points. This exploration was captured through user stories on post-its.

Introducing Stack AI, we showcased its capabilities by creating an AI assistant in just thirty minutes. This assistant, designed to provide feedback on meeting recordings, utilized a JFK speech and leadership resources for analysis. Our workflow in Stack AI culminated in a user-friendly chat interface.

To fuel inspiration, we examined industry use cases, from document management to financial due diligence, highlighting the potential of Large Language Models (LLMs) in leadership support.

Building AI Applications with Stack AI

Teams of two then embarked on a 2.5-day journey to craft custom solutions using Stack AI. Notably, the class favored the Form interface in Stack AI for complex cases and the conversational style of a chatGPT-like interface for more engaging interactions. Speech-to-text and text-to-speech functionalities were also key tools.

The resulting projects included:

• Journal AI: An assistant for logging daily reflections, with anonymized data analysis for managerial insights.
• PRoactive AI: Designed to guide leaders through PR crises, assessing responses with real-world scenarios for testing.
• Scoopy AI: Assists in organizational design for new projects or restructuring, offering structural insights.
• AIM (AI Motivator): Frames behavioral interviews based on resumes and job postings, with a voice assistant conducting the interview.
• Staffing Strategist: Aids managers in assigning team members to projects, considering individual capabilities and project requirements.

The finale was a presentation to an audience of MIT faculty and students, showcasing the innovative and fully operational products.

Key Insights

This class was a source of inspiration for future hands-on generative AI classes at MIT.

Here a few takeaways of the class:

• The accessibility of no-code platforms like Stack AI enables anyone to quickly create functional products.
• The rapid development pace underscores the importance of clearly defining the problem your product addresses.
• Hackathons are an effective format to encourage deep engagement with technology, fostering innovation and delivering tangible value.