2024 Year in Review
As we enter a new year full of exciting potential, we wanted to take a look back at all we accomplished in 2024. This was an incredible year for us, as it marked the beginning of our new chapter as the Wharton AI & Analytics Initiative. 2024 also introduced the Generative AI Labs, the Wharton High School Data Science Competition, the first Wharton Hack-AI-thon, and so much more.
New This Year
Announcing the Wharton AI & Analytics Initiative
In May, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania announced a major investment to drastically scale its research and teaching capabilities in the areas of artificial intelligence and data science. Under the umbrella of the new Wharton AI & Analytics Initiative (WAIAI), the interdisciplinary endeavor encompasses curricular enhancements, investments to advance new research, collaboration between industry and academia, and open-source resources to help shape the direction of generative AI. Read more >>
The Wharton AI & Analytics Initiative Advisory Board
This year, we were thrilled to announce the formation of the WAIAI Advisory Board, comprised of esteemed business leaders from diverse industries. This board brings significant industry expertise, real-world business insights, and invaluable thought leadership to our mission of integrating AI and analytics into business education and practice. Read more >>
The Wharton People Analytics Upskilling Lab
The Wharton People Analytics Upskilling Lab is dedicated to addressing critical workforce challenges and opportunities presented by AI. As the impact of AI on the workforce grows, questions arise: What jobs will emerge? Which roles will disappear? How will AI reshape current jobs? Our goal is to help organizations proactively navigate these changes by providing insights into the skills and processes necessary for future workforce success, implementing evidence-based processes to hire, upskill, and reskill effectively. Learn more >>
The Wharton Generative AI Labs
Led by co-directors Ethan and Lilach Mollick, the mission of the Wharton Generative AI Labs is to combine research and prototyping to create applications for AI that will change how we work and learn. In doing so, the Labs seek to shape the direction of AI to ensure it is used in ways that help humans thrive and succeed, while mitigating risks and dangers. Learn more >>
The Wharton High School Data Science Competition: Soccer Playoff Predictions
In 2024, the Wharton Sports Analytics and Business Initiative (WSABI) and Wharton Global Youth Program were proud to launch the inaugural Wharton High School Data Science Competition: Soccer Playoff Predictions. This free, global opportunity was available to teams of 3-5 high school students around the world, who competed to crunch synthetic league numbers to predict playoff outcomes. We profiled the winning team to hear more about their experience. Learn more >>
Industry and Academia
Women in Data Science @ Penn Conference 2024
WAIAI and Penn Engineering had the distinct pleasure of hosting the fifth annual Women in Data Science @ Penn (WiDS @ Penn) Conference on February 8-9. A celebrated interdisciplinary event, WiDS @ Penn is part of the larger WiDS Worldwide initiative, which aims to elevate and celebrate the outstanding work of women on a global scale, fostering respect, collaboration, connection, and visibility within the data science community. Read more >>
Wharton People Analytics Conference
On March 14-15, 2024, Wharton People Analytics had the privilege of hosting an exceptional lineup of speakers who are shaping the practice of people analytics, and throughout the conference discussed crucial topics, including DEI, algorithmic bias, employee well-being and mental health, employee activism, and more. Watch the conference >>
Second Annual Wharton Business & Generative AI Workshop
Building on the success of our 2023 workshop, this research workshop was designed for academics and industry researchers to network and explore innovative ideas and insights into the transformative potential of Generative AI on business models, industries, and global economies. The event featured thought leaders and academics discussing chatbots, market research, using AI to evaluate ideas, healthcare applications, and more. Read more >>
2024 Wharton Sports Business Summit
WSABI and the Wharton Undergraduate Sports Business Club (WUSBC) hosted the sixth annual Wharton Sports Business Summit on campus at the University of Pennsylvania on November 8, 2024, featuring keynote sessions from the US Tennis Association’s CEO, Lewis Sherr, and Philadelphia Phillies Principal Owner John Middleton. Read more >>
2024 Wharton Neuroscience Summit
On Friday, November 1, 2024, the Wharton Neuroscience Initiative hosted its annual Wharton Neuroscience Summit on campus at the University of Pennsylvania. The focus of this year’s Summit, adaptivity and resilience for business leaders, generated a wide range of insightful presentations and panels on how leaders can anticipate, adapt to, and grow from the myriad challenges that one can experience at work and at home. Read more >>
Petco Gains New Insights, Quick Results Through AI & Analytics Accelerator
As part of the Spring 2024 AI & Analytics Accelerator, Peggy Pranschke from Petco worked with teams of Wharton and Penn students to leverage machine learning and data analytics to help develop novel solutions for supplementing email marketing campaigns for her company. Read more >>
AI Horizons Webinar Series
The AI Horizons webinar series, hosted by AI at Wharton (AIW), offers an in-depth exploration of cutting-edge artificial intelligence business applications and their implications for various industries and companies. Throughout 2024, AIW faculty spoke with a lineup of distinguished academic speakers – including leading AI researchers and professors from top universities – who share their latest findings and theoretical advancements at the intersection of AI and business. Learn more >>
Student Spotlights
Graduates Emma Segerman and Naomi Korn Tackle the Sports Industry
We caught up with then-graduating seniors Emma Segerman and Naomi Korn to learn about the jobs in the sports industry they had waiting for them upon graduation, and to hear how their respective journeys with WSABI helped prepare them with the skills and insights needed to make a professional splash. Read more >>
Wharton Sports Analytics Research Lab
Last summer, WSABI hosted its second Sports Analytics Research Lab, an intensive program designed to deepen students’ expertise in data science and statistics through hands-on research in sports analytics. WSABI spoke up with Wharton students Sofia Boubsis and Justin Hughes to hear how their summer went. Read more >>
The 2024 Khan Family AI for Business Award
AI at Wharton is proud to partner with Venture Lab to offer the Khan Family AI for Business Award for the annual Startup Challenge. These monetary awards are given to the teams that best exemplify the usage of innovative artificial intelligence in their business model. In 2024, AI at Wharton awarded prizes to Jochi and Walnut Research. Click the link to learn more about the winners and their ventures.
Read more >>
The Inaugural Wharton Hack-AI-thon
In 2024 we launched our inaugural Wharton Hack-AI-thon, where students from all skill levels explore and innovate with AI while competing on one of a number of tracks to harness AI to create the best output. We’re continuing the Hack-AI-thon this spring, so stay tuned for more updates!
Read more >>
Trailblazing Research
Growing Up: Navigating Generative AI’s Early Years – AI Adoption Report
AI at Wharton 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 AI at Wharton, and Mary Purk, Former Executive Director of AI at Wharton, 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 >>
Estimating the Effect of YouTube Recommendations
In our annual Research Spotlight series, we spoke with Homa Hosseinmardi, a research scientist at the University of Pennsylvania’s Computational Social Science Lab, about her recent study, “Causally Estimating the Effect of YouTube’s Recommender System Using Counterfactual Bots” to learn more about the social platform. Read more >>
Using Machine Learning to Distribute Aid in Sierra Leone
In March of 2024, we spoke with Angel (Tsai-Hsuan) Chung, a second-year PhD student in Wharton’s Operations, Information and Decisions (OID) Department, about her work in Sierra Leone on optimizing health supply chains with decision-aware machine learning. Read more >>
Do Our Attitudes Towards Cryptocurrencies Affect Pricing?
The Wharton AI & Analytics Initiative spoke with David Reibstein, Catherine “Cait” Lamberton, Z. John Zhang, and, Martin P. Fritze about their research into the attitudes of consumers towards cryptocurrencies – whose true value is famously difficult to ascertain – and how those attitudes are reflected in the pricing of cryptocurrencies. Read more >>
Wharton Sports Analytics Research Notes
WSABI Research Notes deliver cutting-edge insights at the intersection of sports and analytics, connecting theory with real-world applications. From optimizing soccer substitutions during the World Cup to uncovering surprising trends in football fourth-down conversions, our latest research reveals the data driving decisions in sports. Read more >>
Designing an AI-Ready Framework for Chief Data Officers to Maximize AI Value
In June, AI at Wharton 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 CDAOs 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 here: Read more >>
In the News
Generative AI’s Impact on Customer Experience and Decision-making
February 27, 2024
How to Improve AI Fairness in an Unfair World
April 9, 2024
Unpacking the Generative AI Landscape: Who Wins and How?
April 11, 2024
How Will Artificial Intelligence Change MBA Jobs?
June 27, 2024
AI Companions Reduce Loneliness
August 13, 2024
How Low-income Households Can Secure Their Retirement Finances
August 21, 2024
The Future Promise and Risk of Generative AI in Clinical Settings
October 22, 2024