Focus Areas

From Science Fiction to Standard Operating Procedure: Wharton’s Third AI and the Future of Work Conference

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On May 20-21, 2026, Wharton Human-AI Research welcomed scholars, practitioners, and policymakers to campus for its third annual AI and the Future of Work Conference. If the inaugural gathering two years ago framed AI as a transformation on the horizon, this year’s tone made clear the horizon had closed in fast. “A year ago, some of those ideas still felt speculative,” said Nancy Rothbard, Deputy Dean and David Pottruck Professor of Management at the Wharton School during opening remarks, “but today they’re actually shaping how we work, learn, communicate, and make decisions in real time.” …Read More

Why Adding a Human Doesn’t Automatically Make AI Better

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The assumption that humans plus AI will always outperform either alone has become a cornerstone of how organizations are deploying AI today. But what if that assumption is wrong — or at least, far more complicated than we think? In Episode 4 of AI Horizons,  Prasanna “Sonny” Tambe, faculty co-director of Wharton Human AI Research, hosted Gérard Cachon, Fred R. Sullivan Professor of Operations, Information, and Decisions at the Wharton School, and Alex Moehring, assistant professor at Purdue University’s Daniels School of Business, to examine the real-world friction points in human-AI collaboration. Drawing on empirical research and economic theory, the conversation challenged some of the most widely held beliefs about how humans and AI work together, and offered a more grounded way forward.…Read More

The Real Barrier to AI Agent Adoption Isn’t Technology — It’s Psychology

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On April 22, the AI Horizons webinar series from Wharton Human-AI Research (WHAIR) examined why AI agent adoption keeps stalling, and what the research says leaders should do differently. In this episode, Stefano Puntoni, faculty co-director of WHAIR and the Sebastian S. Kresge Professor of Marketing at the Wharton School, joined Thomas McKinlay, founder of Science Says, to present the Wharton Blueprint for AI Agent Adoption. Drawing on academic research and expert interviews with leaders at Google, ServiceNow, Zapier, and Workato, the two unpacked the psychological barriers slowing adoption — and the design strategies that can overcome them. …Read More

How to Build an Organization Where Creativity Actually Thrives

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On April 16, 2026, Wharton Human-AI Research (WHAIR) continued its AI Horizons webinar series with a conversation on one of the most pressing challenges in business today: how to build organizations that are genuinely creative in an age of AI. Host Kartik Hosanagar, faculty co-director of WHAIR, was joined by Yoram (Jerry) Wind, Lauder Professor Emeritus and professor of marketing at the Wharton School, and Margherita Pagani, director of the SKEMA Center for Artificial Intelligence.…Read More

How AI Shapes Creativity: Expanding Potential or Narrowing Possibilities?

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On September 25, 2025, Wharton Human-AI Research (WHAIR) hosted an AI Horizons webinar exploring how AI impacts the quality and diversity of creative ideas. The discussion was led by Kartik Hosanagar, Faculty Co-Director of Wharton Human-AI Research, joined by Anil Doshi, Associate Professor, UCL School of Management, Oliver Hauser, Professor of Economics, University of Exeter, and Léonard Boussioux, Assistant Professor, University of Washington. Each of the speakers drew from recent research they conducted, and together their panel examined how AI influences innovation across industries, highlighting both opportunities and risks.…Read More

Navigating Generative AI’s Early Years – AI Adoption Report

Promotional graphic for "Growing Up: Navigating Gen AI's Early Years," an AI adoption report by Wharton and GBK Collective. Features a gradient blue and purple background with hexagonal patterns.

Wharton Human-AI Research is thrilled to have partnered with GBK Collective to produce Growing Up: Navigating Gen AI’s Early Years. This is an extensively researched report that provides an in-depth analysis of the state of Generative AI (Gen AI) adoption, its business applications, and future prospects. Written by Jeremy Korst, Partner, GBK Collective, Stefano Puntoni, Faculty Co-Director of Wharton Human-AI Research, and Mary Purk, former Executive Director of Wharton Human-AI Research, this report comes at a critical moment in AI’s evolution, as companies transition from initial excitement to deeper experimentation and efforts to prove the Return on Investment (ROI).…Read More

Designing an AI-Ready Framework for Chief Data Officers to Maximize AI Value

The image is a promotional graphic for a collaboration between the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and Informatica, focusing on AI initiatives. It features the logos of both entities on a blue background.

On June 6th, 2024, Wharton Human-AI Research partnered with Informatica to bring dozens of industry leaders and Chief Data Analytics Officers (CDAOs) to Wharton’s campus for a collaborative brainstorming session with many of our leading AI academics. Their goal was to design a framework for companies and their CDOs to reference in order to responsibly and effectively leverage generative AI and increase value for their firms. We are thrilled to now publish the result of their combined efforts through a new white paper: “Designing an AI-Ready Data Framework for CDOs to Maximize AI Value.”…Read More