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Harvard’s AI Faculty Clones Now Teach a Startup Bootcamp

Harvard’s AI Faculty Clones Now Teach a Startup Bootcamp
Harvard built AI clones of its faculty. They are now teaching an online course · theprint.in

Harvard Business School created computer versions of some of its professors.

These versions can talk with people who want to start companies.

The online course helps students develop ideas and practice pitching them.

It also lets them rehearse sales meetings and board meetings.

The AI advisers are trained to ask difficult questions instead of agreeing with every idea.

People can use them whenever they want, without waiting for a real professor.

Some participants say this makes practice easier and more realistic.

One professor called his avatar a little creepy, even though students like it.

Harvard says human teachers and classmates are still an important part of the program.

Key facts

Program
H.B.S. Foundry
Provider
Harvard Business School
Price
$699, described in the article as about Rs 67,000
Duration
Eight weeks
Avatar technology
Avatars were created with HeyGen
Testing
More than 100 universities across 50 states
Participation
About 760 founders in summer sessions discovered Foundry through their schools
Payment
About 45 percent of summer participants paid individually; the rest were sponsored

Quotes

Jeff Bussgang

Harvard Business School senior lecturer and Flybridge Capital co-founder whose AI avatar appears in Foundry

“They love the AI. They’re using the AI, they’re learning a lot. But it keeps coming back to humanity.”
theprint.in
“We literally would have somebody spend 10 hours with the thing, just sort of trying and trying”
theprint.in

Sources

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