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, distributed, and combined inside organizations. The starting point of “Democratizing Innovation, Again?” was a mismatch: AI capabilities have been improving exponentially, while most companies are absorbing them linearly. To understand the consequences, Lakhani and his collaborators have sought to treat AI almost like a new pharmaceutical, one whose efficacy, side effects, and conditions for best use require rigorous testing.
Link to the HBS AI Institute Insight Article
Link to the Research Paper
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