Latest news with #MichaelSchrage
Hi Dubai
18-07-2025
- Business
- Hi Dubai
TCS and MIT Sloan Unveil New Research on Human-AI Collaboration in Business
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), in collaboration with MIT Sloan Management Review, has launched a new research series exploring the evolving relationship between humans and artificial intelligence (AI) in large enterprises. As more companies adopt AI-driven solutions, the focus is shifting from automation to strategic decision-making support. The year-long study, titled Human-Centric AI , examines how AI is transforming industries by enabling better decisions rather than simply optimizing processes. Covering six major sectors—manufacturing, retail and consumer goods, banking and finance, healthcare, energy, and technology—the research identifies how AI can create what it calls "intelligent choice architectures" (ICAs). These systems help organizations not only analyze data but shape the environment in which decisions are made. The research draws insights from major global organizations such as Walmart, Meta, MasterCard, BT, Cummins, and Pernod Ricard. For example, Pernod Ricard uses generative AI to test marketing content more effectively, while Walmart applies AI in HR to identify and nurture internal talent. In manufacturing, Cummins is using AI to simulate extreme engineering scenarios and improve product resilience. Mastercard has integrated AI across onboarding, customer care, and sales, while Liberty Mutual's LibertyGPT has saved over 200,000 employee hours by summarizing and responding to complex queries. Healthcare companies are also leveraging AI to accelerate drug discovery, reducing timelines by up to 30% and cutting associated costs by nearly 40%. Meanwhile, telecommunications provider BT has introduced an AI assistant named Aimee, which manages half of its 60,000 weekly customer interactions. The report emphasizes that AI's role is evolving from being a task assistant to becoming a co-architect in decision-making frameworks. 'ICAs flip the script,' said Michael Schrage, research fellow at MIT Sloan. 'They do not just learn from decisions — they learn how to improve the environment in which decisions are made.' TCS, already a key player in digital transformation, has been actively supporting enterprises on their AI journey. Its GenAI platform, WisdomNext™ 2.0, was recently enhanced with agent-based capabilities, and the company received the NVIDIA Rising Star Consulting Partner of the Year Award for AI Innovation. This new research series reinforces the growing importance of AI in helping enterprises navigate complex choices, optimize strategies, and build more accountable, human-centered decision systems. News Source: Memac Ogilvy
Techday NZ
17-07-2025
- Business
- Techday NZ
AI shifts from adviser to architect in enterprise decision-making
A new study by TCS and MIT Sloan Management Review has identified a significant change in how enterprises are deploying artificial intelligence, marking a transition from AI functioning as an advisory tool to acting as a foundational architect for decision-making structures. The research, titled "Winning with Intelligent Choice Architectures," examines the role of intelligent choice architectures (ICAs) - dynamic AI systems that collaborate closely with humans - to shape, refine, and optimise decision-making environments across six sectors: retail, manufacturing, banking and finance, life sciences, energy, and communications. The report highlights the strategies of companies such as Walmart, Mastercard, Meta, and Pernod Ricard as they adopt these advanced AI capabilities. AI's evolving role The core finding of the study is that the value of AI within organisations is shifting away from simply improving existing business processes to elevating the quality of available options, thereby enabling better, faster, and more accountable decisions. This change is particularly evident in large enterprises looking to differentiate themselves in complex, highly competitive markets. ICAs flip the script. They do not just learn from decisions - they learn how to improve the environment in which decisions are made. That's not analytics, that's architecture. The research was conducted jointly over a year by academic and industry experts, drawing on experiences from a diverse range of global businesses. Michael Schrage, Research Fellow at MIT Sloan's Initiative on the Digital Economy and one of the coauthors of the report, emphasised the significance of this shift in approach. Sector insights In the retail sector, AI helps address challenges in staff turnover, customer personalisation, and supply chain logistics. Pernod Ricard, for instance, applies ICAs to test and personalise campaign content early in the development process, expediting refinement and adaptation. Similarly, Walmart's HR department leverages an ICA to pinpoint local store talent, widening the pool for internal development. Hybrid decision-making supported by AI is also being implemented in manufacturing, improving product design and supply chain management. Cummins, for example, is exploring generative AI to simulate extreme scenarios in powertrain design, aimed at bolstering resilience and reducing time-to-market. In the banking, financial services, and insurance sector, ICAs tackle areas such as risk management, regulatory compliance, personalised service, fraud prevention, and adaptation to market changes. Mastercard is integrating ICAs across departments to harness insights from onboarding, customer care, and sales, in order to improve operational efficiency. LibertyGPT, an AI tool at Liberty Mutual, reportedly saved employees more than 200,000 hours in 2024 by quickly answering queries and summarising large volumes of information. Communications and technology companies are using ICAs to identify and act on valuable business opportunities. BT, the British telecommunications company, has developed Aimee, an AI assistant involved in 60,000 customer interactions each week, autonomously resolving around half of all product and billing enquiries while supporting advisers with the rest. Meta applies ICA frameworks to enable internal teams to make more informed product decisions, experiment with business models, and fine-tune user engagement strategies. The healthcare sector is also experiencing transformation through ICAs, especially in areas like drug discovery and patient care. The study found that using ICAs with scientific teams can prioritise promising drug candidates, potentially reducing drug discovery times by up to 30% and associated costs by as much as 40%. Defining accountability Companies implementing ICAs report outcomes that are not only more efficient but also more transparent and accountable. The design of decision environments - where rights are allocated and options presented - is central to the increased effectiveness of both human and machine collaboration. Ashok Krish, Head of AI Practise at TCS, outlined the impact of this new paradigm. "By augmenting human judgment with machine intelligence, ICAs shift AI from task automation to building superior decision environments for complex multi-factorial situations, enabling more trackable, traceable outcomes that ensure accountability. They help align talent development strategies with organisational goals, making it easier to identify and nurture high-potential employees in the AI-era. Ultimately, ICAs foster environments where human judgment and AI work together seamlessly to create connected organisation intelligence, where smarter and more informed decisions are made." David Kiron, Editorial Director at MIT Sloan Management Review, stressed the collaborative nature of these advances. "This isn't AI as co-pilot. This is AI and humans working together as architects to redesign how people perceive, weigh, and act on choices." The study also examines the importance of transparency in decision-making structures. Sankaranarayanan Viswanathan, Vice President and Head of Business Innovation Corporate Technology Office at TCS, stated, "The real challenge for enterprises isn't just making better decisions - it is recognising that decisions are merely the outcome of the choices they privilege or overlook. What we need are systems that foster intelligent choice architectures - enabling the organisation to see, understand, and act with awareness. Accountable AI demands clarity not only in outcomes, but in the choices considered, the priorities weighed, and the trade-offs accepted. Without this, intelligent systems will silently assume decision-making authority - often without oversight or recourse." Broader implications The joint research by TCS and MIT Sloan Management Review continues a longstanding relationship focused on understanding how enterprises can integrate and leverage new digital technologies effectively. The report provides sector-specific examples illustrating how organisations across diverse industries are configuring ICAs to optimise workflows, reassign decision rights, and enhance overall business performance.
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
MIT Sloan Management Review and TCS Study Reveals the Changing Role of AI in Decision-Making
The future of strategy isn't AI — it's the architecture of choice New MIT SMR and Tata Consultancy Services study urges leaders to treat decision-making as a system to be designed, not a skill to be exercised CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and MUMBAI, India, July 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Tomorrow's most successful companies won't just use artificial intelligence to analyze data — they will use it to rethink, redesign, and rearchitect better decisions. A new report by MIT Sloan Management Review (MIT SMR) in collaboration with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS), a global leader in IT services, consulting, and business solutions, reveals how leading organizations are deploying intelligent choice architectures (ICAs) to gain a competitive edge from better decisions. These AI-empowered systems strike a novel balance between automating processes and augmenting human insight. ICAs actively generate new strategic options, learn from results, and reshape the landscape of possibilities that executives consider. Rather than simply supporting human judgment, ICAs fundamentally transform how decisions get made. Humans and machines can and should work better together. "Winning With Intelligent Choice Architectures" details that competitive advantage now flows not from better human judgment alone but from building superior systems that expand, refine, and optimize the choices humans ultimately make. The year-long research into ICAs that was conceptualized and executed jointly by MIT SMR and TCS drew insights from business leaders and top executives across six major industries. These included experts and pioneers from Mayo Clinic, Sanofi, Cummins, Walmart, Meta, Mastercard, and Pernod Ricard. The research identifies a critical shift: AI is moving from adviser to architect. Companies that master this transition are pulling ahead of those still trapped in traditional decision-making frameworks. "ICAs flip the script," said Michael Schrage, MIT Sloan IDE research fellow and report coauthor. "They do not just learn from decisions — they learn how to improve the environment in which decisions are made. That's not analytics, that's architecture." Organizations embracing ICAs do not just automate decisions; they design how they govern decision environments. The result? Decisions become faster, smarter, more accessible, and more accountable. Both human and machine agency are clearly defined, auditable, and aligned with purpose. "This isn't AI as copilot," said David Kiron, editorial director, research, of MIT Sloan Management Review. "This is AI and humans working together as architects to redesign how people perceive, weigh, and act on choices." The ICA ImperativeThe report outlines how enterprises in financial services, health care, manufacturing, and logistics are prototyping ICAs that extend decision literacy and shift executive roles from arbiters of choices to curators of choice ecosystems. It warns that success depends less on AI capability and more on organizational readiness, urging companies to reflect on questions like: Does the company treat decision-making as a designable process? Do leaders know what choices they're not seeing? Are governance and incentives aligned to optimize option quality, not just decision speed? Ashok Krish, head, AI Practice, TCS, said, "By augmenting human judgment with machine intelligence, ICAs shift AI from task automation to building superior decision environments. They enable more trackable, traceable outcomes that ensure accountability for complex situations with multiple decision-making factors. They help align talent development strategies with organizational goals, making it easier to identify and nurture high-potential employees in the AI era. Ultimately, ICAs foster environments where human choices and AI work together seamlessly to create connected organization intelligence, where decisions are smarter and more informed." Decision Rights Are Now a Design ProblemBased on these research findings, the authors warn that if leaders do not explicitly assign decision rights in ICA-enabled systems, those systems will assume them. Machine learning models will set priorities, trade-offs, and defaults — often without visibility, oversight, or accountability. Sankaranarayanan Viswanathan, VP and head of business innovation, Corporate Technology Office, TCS, said, "The real challenge for enterprises isn't just making better decisions — it is recognizing that decisions are merely the outcome of the choices they privilege or overlook. What we need are systems that foster intelligent choice architectures — enabling the organization to see, understand, and act with awareness. Accountable AI demands clarity not only in outcomes but in the choices considered, the priorities weighed, and the trade-offs accepted. Without this, intelligent systems will silently assume decision-making authority — often without oversight or recourse." Strategic TakeawayICAs signal a profound shift: The future of competitive advantage lies not in better decisions but in better-designed decision environments. This redefines leadership, not as simply making the call but as architecting the arena in which better calls can be made. ICAs are not the next stage of automation; they represent the future of choice itself. They reframe choice-making as a design problem: structuring, surfacing, and expanding meta choices that influence outcomes before options are consciously considered. Download the publication here. Media Contact:Tess Woods:+1 617 942 0336Tess@ ABOUT MIT SLOAN MANAGEMENT REVIEWAt MIT Sloan Management Review (MIT SMR), we explore how leadership and management are transforming in a disruptive world. We help thoughtful leaders capture the exciting opportunities — and face down the challenges — created as technological, societal, and environmental forces reshape how organizations operate, compete, and create value. MIT SLOAN MANAGEMENT REVIEW: BIG IDEASMIT Sloan Management Review's Big Ideas Initiatives develop innovative, original research on the issues transforming our fast-changing business environment. MIT SMR conducts global surveys and in-depth interviews with front-line leaders working at a range of companies, from Silicon Valley startups to multinational organizations, to deepen our understanding of changing paradigms and their influence on how people work and lead. TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES LTD (TCS)Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS) is a digital transformation and technology partner of choice for industry-leading organizations worldwide. Since its inception in 1968, TCS has upheld the highest standards of innovation, engineering excellence, and customer service. Rooted in the heritage of the Tata Group, TCS is focused on creating long-term value for its clients, its investors, its employees, and the community at large. With a highly skilled workforce of 613,069 consultants in 55 countries and 202 service delivery centers across the world, the company has been recognized as a top employer in six continents. With the ability to rapidly apply and scale new technologies, the company has built long-term partnerships with its clients — helping them emerge as perpetually adaptive enterprises. Many of these relationships have endured into decades and navigated every technology cycle, from mainframes in the 1970s to artificial intelligence today. TCS sponsors 14 of the world's most prestigious marathons and endurance events, including the TCS New York City Marathon, TCS London Marathon, and TCS Sydney Marathon with a focus on promoting health, sustainability, and community empowerment. TCS generated consolidated revenues of over US $30 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025. For more information, visit Follow TCS on LinkedIn| Instagram | YouTube| X TCS Media Contacts: Corporate Communication & India Email: | Phone: +91 22 6778 9999Email: | Phone: +91 22 6778 9098 USA Email: | Phone: +1646 617 8221 View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE MIT Sloan Management Review Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
MIT researcher shares key lessons from over 100 AI prompt-a-thons
Good morning. AI is accelerating a rethink of the finance function. Earlier this year, I spoke with Michael Schrage, a research fellow at MIT Sloan's Initiative on the Digital Economy, about his prediction that AI will eventually transform the CFO role into that of an AI-powered chief capital officer. Now, as generative AI and AI agent use become more prolific, Schrage and I reconnected to discuss a tool that's fast gaining traction in the enterprise: prompt-a-thons. These are structured, sprint-based sessions for developing prompts for large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Gemini. Schrage has led more than 100 of these since 2023, including in executive education, MBA classes, and business settings. 'Prompt-a-thons aren't just workshops; they're mirrors,' he said. 'They reflect not only what people want AI to do—but how they think, what they value, and what they overlook.' In 60–90-minute sprints, small cross-functional teams design, test, and iterate prompts to improve KPIs, clarify workflows, and challenge assumptions. According to Schrage, most participants discover their initial thinking is 'flawed, shallow, or stuck in spreadsheet autopilot.' The prompt-a-thon process reframes prompting as a high-impact diagnostic and design discipline—engineered for fast, actionable insight. 'It's not just about using AI more effectively—it's about thinking and collaborating more intelligently with it,' he said. For many finance leaders, the instinct is to upskill people on AI. Schrage suggests flipping the frame: 'Let's prompt your cost centers and forecast failures until something breaks—and gets better.' He points to financial planning and analysis (FP&A) as a particularly powerful starting point. Prompt-a-thons here often surface hidden data, unchallenged assumptions, and areas of organizational ambiguity or resistance. 'Prompt-a-thons aren't about rainbows and unicorns,' he added. 'But every so often, one shows up—usually disguised as a counterintuitive insight.' Why emphasize small teams or collaborative prompting? 'A prompt is a hypothesis about how the world works—and the world pushes back,' Schrage explained. 'Solo prompting explores. But team prompting evolves and that's where real learning happens.' Schrage compares the approach to sports analytics: 'You're not just trying to win once. You're trying to build the kind of team that keeps winning.' Though he would never position himself as a finance expert, Schrage offers three recurring lessons learned from finance-driven prompt-a-thons: —Prompts are scaffolds, not shortcuts. Great prompts don't replace critical thinking—they sharpen and amplify it. One-shot prompts are useful; iterative ones are transformative. —Avoid trying to automate what you don't understand. The danger isn't that LLMs get things wrong—it's that they confidently reinforce flawed assumptions baked into broken processes. —Look beyond cost-cutting. Most finance prompts chase efficiencies. The best ones expose strategic blind spots and generate new hypotheses worth testing. Schrage's key takeaway is that the quality of a team's prompts reveals the quality of its decision culture. 'People don't just learn how to prompt; they learn what their organization won't let them ask,' he said. 'That's when everything changes.' Prompt-a-thons expose what firms know, want to know, and avoid, he said. By closing these gaps, teams not only boost AI fluency—they get better at asking and answering the questions that matter, Schrage said. Sheryl This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
