Wharton Course Spotlight
AI in Our Lives: How Wharton Prepares Students to Lead in the Age of AI
As artificial intelligence continues to shape industries, careers, and daily life, students at the Wharton School have a unique opportunity to explore AI from a behavioral science perspective in the course AI in Our Lives: The Behavioral Science of Autonomous Technology.
Taught by Stefano Puntoni, Sebastian S. Kresge Professor of Marketing and Faculty Co-Director of AI at Wharton, and funded in part by the Wharton AI & Analytics Initiative, this class examines the ways AI impacts individuals, organizations, and society, offering students a chance to critically assess both the benefits and risks of this rapidly evolving technology.
Unlike technical AI courses that focus on coding and the intricacies of large language models, AI in Our Lives, which is available to undergraduates and MBA students, examines how people interact with AI and how businesses can effectively integrate it. “We don’t necessarily study the algorithms,” explains Professor Puntoni, “but we study the impact that the algorithms have on people.” The course is designed for students across disciplines who want to understand how AI makes ripples inside companies and beyond.
A Multi-Level
Exploration of AI
Professor Puntoni structures the course around three levels of analysis: individual, organizational, and societal. On an individual level, students explore topics such as consumer AI experiences and psychological barriers to adoption. At the organizational level, the course examines how AI can be leveraged alongside human intelligence to enhance business processes. Finally, on a societal scale, students tackle ethical concerns, economic shifts, and the future of human-AI collaboration. One of the key takeaways, according to Professor Puntoni, is reframing how we think about the human-AI relationship, and he starts by acknowledging the prospect of AI potentially replacing human workers.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Understand AI’s value-creating potential and the psychological processes influencing human responses to automation.
- Develop skills to integrate human and machine intelligence in decision-making and design positive AI-driven consumer experiences.
- Reflect on AI’s impact on personal life and business practices to drive positive change.
To some employers, this might be a hope, and for many workers, a fear. Regardless, Professor Puntoni insists it’s an unnecessarily exclusive point of view. He encourages students to shift their perspective from “human or AI” to “human and AI,” emphasizing how businesses can design AI systems that enhance human expertise rather than replace it. By understanding the tasks at which AI excels, his students can better prioritize the skills that make them the most valuable as employees working alongside AI.
The Student Perspective
For Tanika Mehra, WG’25, a former student of the course, AI in Our Lives was a transformative experience. Coming from a background in finance and analytics, she was eager to deepen her understanding of AI’s business applications. “I had never taken a behavioral science class before,” Mehra recalls. “I thought it would help me understand not just the technical nuances of AI, but also how leaders should think about it—how AI will influence decision-making and consumer adoption.”
The course, Mehra says, “falls bang in the middle” between theory and hands-on practice, a balance she found particularly valuable. “Every Monday, we start with AI news, ensuring that students stay up to date with the latest developments,” she says. The curriculum also includes guest lectures from industry leaders, including experts from Google, DeepMind, and AI startups, giving students the ability to hear directly from cutting-edge innovators, ask questions, and expand their network.
The assignments in Professor Puntoni’s course are designed to be highly practical, prompting students to engage with AI models in various capacities. “For some students, it was their first time experimenting with generative AI tools, while others had built multiple AI models before. That mix of backgrounds made class discussions incredibly engaging.”
One assignment, for example, is written entirely by ChatGPT via student prompts. It’s their job to reflect on the successes and failures of their prompting strategies and identify areas for improvement. Another assignment sees the students creating a custom GPT of their own. “It’s usually a tool that people can use to perform a repeated action,” said Mehra. “Say a sous-chef [GPT], for example, where you input your dietary preferences and stuff from your fridge, and then it will spit out a customized meal schedule.”
The experience students gain working with these tools provides them with a new perspective on how real-world companies deploy customer-facing AI. Yet another assignment requires them to identify a company, like Spotify or Apple, and examine the benefits and potential ethical concerns presented by any AI products these companies utilize.
By the end of the semester, students are equipped with a more holistic and industry-agnostic understanding of which workforce roles are best occupied by humans and their machine counterparts. A keen sense for AI’s use cases and potential risk exposures will prove to be a necessary skillset for anyone entering the machine-intelligent workforce, regardless of industry.
AI in Our Lives made such an impact on Mehra that she’s back in the classroom as a teaching assistant this semester.
“We don’t necessarily study the algorithms – we study the impact that the algorithms have on people.”
Stefano Puntoni, Professor of AI in Our Lives
Preparing for the AI-Driven Future
Both Professor Puntoni and Mehra emphasize the growing importance of AI literacy in business education. “Much more than for other technologies, learning to benefit from AI requires overcoming human barriers—psychological, cultural, and organizational,” says Professor Puntoni. “Students need to understand not only what AI can do, but also what it means for them and their future careers.”
Mehra agrees, adding that the course equips students with a critical framework for thinking about AI in any industry. “Even if you’re not planning to work in AI directly, understanding how it influences decision-making and business strategy is crucial,” she says. “This course helps students develop that skill set.”
For those considering enrolling, Professor Puntoni encourages students from all backgrounds to take part. “Some students are aspiring AI entrepreneurs, others are consultants or financial analysts, and some are just curious about AI’s impact on society,” he says. “The course is designed to offer something valuable to all of them.”