Please join us before the talk at 2pm, outside of LL2.224 for refreshments

Title: Generative AI and the Transformation of Expertise: Rethinking Knowledge Work in the Age of AI

Speaker: Karim R. Lakhani, Dorothy & Michael Hintze Professor of Business Administration at HBS

Abstract: Generative AI is not just an automation tool—it is reshaping expertise in knowledge-intensive work. In two large-scale randomized controlled trials (RCTs) across two organizations (BCG & P&G), my research team and I examine how AI influences individual expertise, decision-making, and team collaboration.

The first study, Navigating the Jagged Technological Frontier, reveals how AI enhances productivity and quality in knowledge work but also introduces new risks of misjudgment when users over-rely on AI beyond its competency frontier. The second study, The Cybernetic Teammate, explores how AI functions as an embedded collaborator, bridging expertise gaps (between R&D and Marketing) and altering team dynamics by reducing functional silos and even shaping emotional engagement.

These findings raise fundamental questions about the evolving nature of expertise and collaboration: How does AI shape professional judgment? What new skills and capabilities will be required in an AI-augmented workforce? What does hybrid human-AI expertise look like, and how should we design systems and institutions to support it? This talk will present new evidence on the opportunities and challenges of AI-driven expertise transformation, with implications for research, education, and practice.

Speaker Bio:

Karim R. Lakhani is the Dorothy & Michael Hintze Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. He is the (co)founder of several Harvard-wide research and educational initiatives centered around the intersection of technological innovation, artificial intelligence (AI) and company strategy. He is the co-founder and chair of the Digital, Data & Design (D^3) Institute at Harvard, founder and co-director of the Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard, and the principal investigator of the NASA Tournament Laboratory. He is also the co-founder of the Harvard Business Analytics Program, a university-wide online program transforming executives into data-savvy leaders.

Karim has published over 150 scholarly articles and case studies and is known for his original scholarship on open source software and open innovation and has pioneered the use of field experiments to help solve innovation-related challenges while simultaneously generating rigorous research in partnership with organizations like NASA, Harvard Catalyst, The Boston Consulting Group, Procter & Gamble and The Broad Institute. His digital transformation research investigates the role of analytics and AI in reshaping business and operating models. He co-authored Competing in the Age of AI (2020), an award-winning book published by the Harvard Business Review Press. He has developed six online-courses that have educated thousands of executives on AI strategy, technology-driven transformation, and entrepreneurship.

Karim is an advisor to senior executives at leading companies. He serves as an Academic Partner at Flagship Pioneering, member of the Board of Directors of VIDEA Health, and an advisor to several AI-based startups. He is the co-founder of Aspire Institute, a non-profit that aims to transform the lives of first-in-family college students world-wide.

Karim was awarded his Ph.D. in management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also holds an SM degree in Technology and Policy from MIT, and a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Management from McMaster University in Canada. He is a recipient of the Aga Khan Foundation International Scholarship and a doctoral fellowship from Canada's Social Science and Humanities Research Council. Prior to coming to HBS he served as a Lecturer at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. Karim has also worked in sales, marketing and new product development roles at GE Healthcare and was a consultant with The Boston Consulting Group.