A new Harvard analysis mapped where data-center water actually goes. Listen to this article: Recent social media posts have joked that using an LLM is a bit like turning on a hose, draining a bottle of water, or flushing the toilet. The idea being that every time an LLM answers a prompt, it heats up […]
A field experiment provides evidence that AI investment plans focus on the rivals next door. Listen to this article: We may be mistaking AI momentum for inevitability. AI capabilities seem to be advancing faster than ever, but technologies don’t diffuse automatically. They spread through thousands of individual decisions made by firms that often have an […]
New research shows AI data center infrastructure is more closely tied to clean-energy returns than to traditional energy. Listen to this article: Behind every AI prompt sits a heavy, physical infrastructure with a growing appetite for electricity. This could lift demand for natural gas and energy storage, renewables, grid equipment, and transmission, but each option […]
A randomized trial suggests purpose-built AI may help spot and support emotional strain. Listen to this article: Modern life is full of signals. A watch can tell us our heart rate, an app can tell us how many hours we slept, and our fridges can even alert us if we’re running low on eggs. But […]
Why scalable AI ideation fails, and how to fix it. Listen to this article: AI innovation has a motivation problem. Generating an idea with AI is only the first leg of a relay race that requires refinement, gathering support, and persistence when problems arise. But if an employee feels no psychological ownership over an idea, […]
Researchers found that an AI-based assessment closely tracked leaders’ impact on human teams. Listen to this article: Judging a leader with a successful team is like judging the conductor of a great orchestra: the outcome reflects both the person directing the group and the abilities of everyone around them. Measuring leadership therefore requires a way […]
Firms were built to control scarce knowledge. AI is testing that premise from the inside. Listen to this article: This article continues our coverage of the 2026 Open and User Innovation (OUI) Conference, where HBS Professor Raffaella Sadun presented the day two keynote “AI and the Organization of Knowledge.” Sadun describes herself as an organizational […]
A new survey of tech founders finds that adoption hides a much bigger story about who is willing to restructure work around AI Listen to this article: AI will not reorganize your company for you. With increased automation and agentic AI systems inching into the workplace, leaders have a vital role to play in producing […]
The promise of AI creativity depends on knowing where human judgment still breaks down. Listen to this article: People love using AI as a brainstorming partner. The experience feels collaborative, fast, and often confidence-building. It’s tempting to assume that once AI enters the room, great ideas are near at hand. But the new paper, “Innovating […]
The HBS AI Institute’s co-founder explains how AI is redrawing the boundaries of economics, talent, and innovation. On Monday, July 27, the HBS AI Institute’s Karim R. Lakhani opened the 2026 Open and User Innovation (OUI) Conference with a talk connecting the rapid evolution of AI to a deeper shift in how expertise is created, […]