SP Jain Global’s Director of AI Programs Discusses Future of AI in Business and Cutting-Edge Curriculum Integration
CXOToday has engaged in an exclusive interview with Dr Debashis Guha, Director, MAIB and Chair, CRTIB – S P Jain School of Global Management.
- Kindly brief us about your career, experience, and role at SP Jain Global
I have worked in AI and related areas for more than three decades both in academia and industry. I have taught at University of Texas at Dallas, Columbia University, and the Administrative Staff College of India, founded and led technology consulting companies, and consulted for many governments and large corporations.
- As the Director of the Master of Artificial Intelligence program, How do you stay updated with the latest developments and trends in artificial intelligence, and how do you incorporate these into the curriculum?
I use multiple sources of information to stay updated:
- X/Twitter and my personal curated feed of AI blogs, for general news
- Arxiv, a few selected GitHub repositories, and 2-3 journals, for technical content
- In addition, I am in contact with other academics and researchers and attend seminars and conferences regularly.
Our faculty members are all active researchers and keep up with the latest developments. They prepare a teaching plan every term that incorporates new advancements as and when necessary. We also organise seminars and special workshops on emerging themes on a regular basis for our students.
- How do you see the role of artificial intelligence evolving in the business sector?
AI will evolve from its current status as a set of specialised tools used mostly by tech workers to being used every day by the entire workforce, in the same way that computers themselves evolved from being just technological curiosities in the 1950s and 1960s to near-universal adoption. They will become incorporated into all sorts of tools, including office productivity tools, enterprise software, and software that manages production and operations.
- Could you discuss some of the recent advancements or trends in artificial intelligence that you find particularly exciting?
As we all know, the biggest recent advancement in the field of AI is Generative AI models, like OpenAI’s GPT-4, Google’s Gemini, Meta’s Llama and the like. This weekend saw huge developments in this field, with OpenAI introducing Sora, a text-to-video tool that generates incredibly lifelike minute-long video snippets based on text prompts, and Google releasing Gemini 1.5, a model that can ingest the text from entire books and movies and accurately answer questions about these texts.
- How does the Master of Artificial Intelligence in Business program at SP Jain School of Global Management differentiate itself from other similar programs?
The Master of Artificial Intelligence in Business program blends a rigorous training in the technology of Artificial Intelligence, with an introduction to the basic principles of management and uses project-based learning to teach the students how AI is implemented to solve business problems.
- How do you see artificial intelligence transforming the job market and career opportunities for graduates in the coming years?
AI is going to provide a big boost to the global economy and lead to a big increase in economic and employment opportunities. A lot of these opportunities will be outside the field of technology. All workers will need to be able to use AI tools, the way office workers have to learn to use productivity software or factory workers have to learn enterprise applications.
- What sets SP Jain Global apart from other institutes in the industry?
A focus on project-based learning is a fundamental factor that differentiates S P Jain Global from other institutions. Almost all MAIB modules, including subjects such as mathematics and statistics, are taught this way and most of the projects are either taken directly from industry experience or inspired by industrial problems. Many modules do not have any exams, but students are expected to formulate and execute a project that teaches them not only the details of the subject but also the skills necessary to implement technology solutions in a business setting.
- What advice would you give to individuals considering a career or further education in artificial intelligence?
The ability to think precisely and mathematically is an essential skill for anyone looking for a career in AI. This does not necessarily mean that you need to know a lot of advanced mathematics, beyond college-level calculus, algebra, and statistics although a bit of differential geometry and topology does help. But you do need to develop your aptitude for clear and precise thinking using mathematics. You will also need to know Python and its ecosystem. Coding is an excellent exercise in precise thinking and is beneficial beyond its mere utilitarian value.
