Chris Gash/theispot.com The Research The authors synthesized findings from four studies spanning short-story writing, circular-economy solutions, humor caption contests, and collaborative storytelling. Across all four studies, AI assistance improved individual output quality, but it reduced collective diversity, resulting in more similar, convergent ideas across groups. AI had the greatest positive effect on individuals with lower…
Matt Harrison Clough / Ikon Images The Research The authors performed a four-year, fixed-window observational analysis of administrative work inside a large U.S. public higher-education institution. Generative AI tools were introduced to executive leaders, operational leaders, and student-facing professionals throughout the organization in 2026. Staffing levels and work hours remained stable across the period studied.…
Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images In 1951, philosopher Martin Heidegger told a small audience, “The most thought-provoking thing in our thought-provoking time is that we are still not thinking.” Few understood him then. Seventy-five years later, the observation has become unavoidable because AI has forced every leader to confront a question about the nature…
The thinking was simple: replace combustion with electricity, and voilà! A massive chunk of our carbon emissions would go “poof.” The mantra, dubbed “electrify everything,” was seen as one of our most immediate opportunities to decarbonize; you can wipe out a lot of emissions when you replace a gas-powered vehicle with an electric version. And…
Even in the world of business, money can’t always buy happiness. At least that’s what many modern-day workers seem to believe. In the U.S., workers have increasingly prioritized purpose and meaning in their jobs over pay. And many American companies have responded in kind, collectively donating $44 billion to prosocial causes in 2024 rather than…
Look across any organization, and you will find leaders at various levels: aspiring young managers in their first roles, department heads who have been guiding teams for years, and C-suite leaders whose experience and acumen guides the success of the organization. But not all leaders are created equally. So what sets the best of them…
“Mayday, Mayday, Mayday.” It’s one of the most frightening phrases we could potentially hear as passengers on a flight. Fortunately, few of us ever do. And that’s largely thanks to the coordinated efforts of the pilots managing tons of stimuli from aircraft gauges and readers while communicating with each other, air-traffic control, and the rest…
From airlines to clothing stores, all kinds of retailers partner with lenders to offer co-branded credit cards that come with perks like discounts or reward points. The upside of these partnerships is obvious: the lender gets a new credit customer, and the retailer strengthens its existing relationship with that customer. But these types of cards…
The word “barbarian” comes from the ancient Greek barbaros, a slur meant to mark outsiders as less than fully human. It is one of countless examples of people using words or phrases to demean people in groups not their own. “Slurs are a weapon,” says Cynthia Wang, a clinical professor at the Kellogg School and…
Carolyn Geason-Beissel/MIT SMR | Getty Images Leaders at literally every Fortune 500 company will tell you that they are governing their AI — every single one of them. Now ask those same leaders who’s responsible for shutting down an AI model that’s causing harm. Most people can’t answer that question. That silence is the most…