As Harvard Business School seeks to expand its reach, it is using AI avatars to offer individual feedback to bootcamp participants. The avatars were created by startup HeyGen and included in the eight-week HBS Foundry bootcamp with a price tag of $699 for entrepreneurs.
The programme offers live sessions with instructors each week, but it is AI avatars who provide feedback during practice presentations and board meetings. A New York Times reporter, Sarah Kessler, tried the experience by presenting a plan to an AI-generated copy of Flybridge Capital co-founder Jeff Bussgang. According to Kessler, both Bussgang and his simulation were unimpressed with her proposal to create "Uber for bananas", although the virtual version offered a noticeably frozen smile during the presentation.
The project director, Katharina Rings, said she initially imagined the AI component as something closer to a chatbot. However, after HBS launched a trial version, students indicated they wanted a more guided experience.
Although some university students have expressed negative feelings towards AI, Foundry participants told Kessler that they like the avatars. As for Bussgang, he acknowledged that his digital copy is somewhat "unsettling", but stated that "My students love it".
