Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Business Strategy

This online program from the MIT Sloan School of Management and the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) challenges common misconceptions surrounding AI and will equip and encourage you to embrace AI as part of a transformative toolkit. With a focus on the organizational and managerial implications of these technologies, rather than on their technical aspects, you’ll leave this course armed with the knowledge and confidence you need to pioneer its successful integration in business. Our curriculum has recently been refreshed to include the most modern and in-demand AI skills that allows our learners to meet growing demand for AI professionals.

What is artificial intelligence (AI)? What does it mean for business? And how can your company take advantage of it? This online program, designed by the MIT Sloan School of Management and the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), will help you answer these questions.

Through an engaging mix of introductions to key technologies, business insights, case examples, and your own business-focused project, your learning journey will bring into sharp focus the reality of central AI technologies today and how they can be harnessed to support your business needs.

Focusing on key AI technologies, such as machine learning, natural language processing, generative AI, and robotics, the course will help you understand the implications of these new technologies for business strategy, as well as the economic and societal issues they raise. MIT expert instructors examine how artificial intelligence will complement and strengthen our workforce rather than just eliminate jobs. Additionally, the program will emphasize how the collective intelligence of people and computers together can solve business problems that not long ago were considered impossible.

Learn more about the self-paced online experience.

Learn more about GetSmarter technical requirements.

The recommended weekly time commitment for core content is 4-5 hours, taking into account the busy lifestyles of working professionals, with an additional 2-3 hours recommended for non-compulsory weekly extension activities, should you have the time. Each module is released weekly, allowing a flexible but structured approach to learning. You’ll be supported as you engage in individual activities and group discussions, ensuring you feel confident to submit your best work at each weekly deadline.

Upon successful completion of your course, you will earn a certificate of completion from the MIT Sloan School of Management. This course may also count toward MIT Sloan Executive Certificate requirements.

In this course you will learn:

This 6-week online program presents you with a foundational understanding of where we are today with AI and how we got here. The focus is on three key AI technologies: machine learning, natural language processing, generative AI, and robotics. You’ll gain a practical introduction to these key AI technologies and their business implications, equipping you with the knowledge and the confidence you need to transform your organization by converting uncertainties regarding AI into impactful opportunities for business growth. Our curriculum has recently been refreshed to include the most modern and in-demand AI skills that allows our learners to meet growing demand for AI professionals.

The program does not assume any particular technological background – you’ll focus on the organizational and managerial implications of these technologies and how they can be applied in the workplace, rather than on their technical dimensions. A key element of the course will be an individual project where you develop a plan for how AI could be used in your own organization or some other business context of your choice.

This program is designed to prepare those with strategic decision-making responsibilities – such as aspiring managers, current managers, and high-level executives – to effectively analyze, articulate, and apply key AI management and leadership insights in their work and that of their teams and organizations.

If you’re an experienced business person in a middle management position or higher, or you’re able to have an influence on decision-making in your role, this program will be relevant to you. Whether you’re a manager leading team productivity and looking for a way to unlock new opportunities; a business executive driving innovation, new product development, and market differentiation; a data analyst using or wanting to use AI to understand customer behavior; a marketing and sales specialist producing value-added content to engage with customers; or a data scientist looking to understand business applications when developing AI programs, this program will benefit your work.

GetSmarter™, a brand of 2U, Inc., partners with the world's leading universities to select, design and deliver premium online short courses with a data-driven focus on learning gain.

Technology meets academic rigor in our people-mediated model which enables lifelong learners across the globe to obtain industry-relevant skills that are certified by the world’s most reputable academic institutions.