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HBS Foundry rolls out avatars
Harvard Business School has added AI avatars of instructors to HBS Foundry, an eight-week entrepreneurship boot camp that costs $699 and lets entrepreneurs rehearse pitches with digital mentors during practical assignments.
“Harvard Business School made A.I. avatars of its instructors”
The program, which combines weekly live sessions with instructors and hands-on work, uses AI copies of instructors to provide feedback as participants prepare presentations and practice pitching business ideas.
Project director Katharina Rings said the digital avatar technology for HBS Foundry was developed by the startup HeyGen, and she said the tool was initially planned as a chatbot before the program adopted a more structured, guided format.
In a test described by The New York Times, a video call simulation used an AI-generated avatar of Flybridge Capital co-founder Jeff Bussgang while the real Bussgang later conceded that the simulation is at least a little “creepy.”
Reactions: frozen smile, “creepy”
TechCrunch reported that New York Times reporter Sarah Kessler pitched an AI-generated copy of Flybridge Capital co-founder Jeff Bussgang with her “Uber for bananas” idea, and both the real Bussgang and his simulacra were unimpressed.
Kessler said the virtual version offered a noticeably frozen smile during her pitch, while Bussgang acknowledged his digital copy is a little “creepy” and added, “My students love it.”
TechCrunch also quoted project director Katharina Rings saying she initially envisioned the AI component as something closer to a chatbot, but after HBS released a trial version, students said they wanted a more guided experience.
In The New York Times account, Bussgang, who is described as a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School, is shown as volunteering to help create A.I. clones of himself for the H.B.S. Foundry boot camp.
Scale, testing, and AI agents
The New York Times reported that Harvard has tested the product, which costs $699, with more than 100 universities across 50 states, and it described Foundry guiding participants through a framework for starting a company.
“with more than 100 universities across 50 states”
Along with Harvard Business School content, the virtual work space includes a community of peers and access to A.I. agents—some intended to “represent” instructors—plus video call simulations for practicing pitches, sales calls and board meetings with instructor A.I. avatars.
TechCrunch said Foundry offers live sessions with instructors every week, but the AI avatars are the ones providing feedback during practice pitches and board meetings.
In The New York Times, the portal is described as using A.I. resources and content from the business school for building a start-up, while experienced founders, investors, and Harvard Business School faculty lead weekly live sessions.