Originally published Business Education in the Age of Technology on by https://www.sdbj.com/special-report/business-education-in-the-age-of-technology/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=business-education-in-the-age-of-technology at San Diego Business Journal
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SAN DIEGO COUNTY– As of March of this year, 71% of businesses and organizations now report regular use of generative AI in at least one business function, up from 53% in 2023, according to a recent report by McKinsey & Company.
Across industries, San Diego State University (SDSU) Fowler College of Business Dean Dan Moshavi said that professionals have seen an “explosion in AI usage over the past two to three years.” With that trend, local MBA programs have taken up the mantle of rethinking business education.
While many perceive AI as a recent technological advancement, the concept has been around for about 75 years, said University of San Diego (USD) Knauss School of Business Adjunct MBA Professor Pankaj Kedia. The term itself originated at a 1956 conference hosted by Dartmouth College mathematics professor John McCarthy.
What has changed in the past five years is that AI has become ubiquitous in the workplace and at home.
“Fundamentally, what is different is that all of us have access to AI, not just researchers,” Kedia said. “Today, AI is touching every aspect of our life — in personal life and professional life. At Knauss, our goal is to help today’s students become tomorrow’s business leaders, to think creatively, to show them how to innovate.”
To Kedia, incorporating AI in business education provides an advantageous baseline of knowledge.
“No matter what function you are in, whether it’s sales or marketing or engineering, no matter which industry you are working in, whether it’s healthcare or construction or manufacturing or legal — AI is impacting left and right, up and down, every aspect of what you do at work,” Kedia said. “It’s a foundational skill.”
AI’s Growing Presence in the Business Landscape
With experience at companies like Qualcomm and Intel, Kedia has witnessed the evolution of AI in business firsthand. As the topic becomes more relevant, USD’s MBA curriculum has adapted.
“After being in the industry for three decades, I’ve seen the different technology waves,” Kedia said. “I wanted to give back to USD… Every semester, the workload and the number of units go up. I’m having the time of my life teaching about something I love.”
At Fowler, the James Silberrad Brown Center for Artificial Intelligence was launched in 2023 to advance AI research and educate students on the agentic and generative AI tools reshaping the future of work.
“I believe that AI will significantly reshape the business world in the next five years, not only by automating routine tasks but by enabling smarter, faster decision-making across industries,” Moshavi said. “We anticipate a growing demand for leaders who can combine human judgment with AI-driven insights, as well as a premium on skills like prompt engineering, data interpretation and ethical risk management.”
Nicole Guinta, a part-time MBA candidate at USD and systems engineering consultant, was drawn to USD’s program because of Kedia’s Torero Venture Labs course, in which students incubate ideas from “concept” to “ready to launch” ventures, incorporating AI.
“As I got closer to signing up for the class, AI really started to boom, and the class evolved with it,” Guinta said. “[Kedia] brought incredible insights about how AI is reshaping the entrepreneurial landscape… He also brought in guest speakers, founders, investors and market research experts who gave us a wide range of perspectives on how AI is influencing early-stage businesses.”
Teaching responsible and strategic AI use will hone the “business leaders of tomorrow,” said Kedia.
“AI is another tool in your quiver,” he added.
Preparing the Next Generation of Business Leaders
According to Kedia, a large portion of the MBA students at Knauss are already working full-time and taking courses in the evenings. He said that they are not waiting for graduation to put their skills in practice.
“AI has already changed how we how we work,” Kedia said. “It’s a real-time ROI.”
In his courses at USD, which include Torero Venture Labs and Impact of AI on Business Strategy, Kedia’s curriculum boils down to three elements: teaching new AI tools with a hands-in approach each week, putting tools to efficient and responsible use and learning from others.
Class time is split evenly between theory, practice, guest speakers and case study research. Throughout the Venture Labs course, students apply AI to a startup concept.
“What gives me the most joy is that these are not just class projects,” Kedia said. “They become their life.”
The course included 26 students with eight teams for the startup projects. Four teams have continued to actively pursue their projects, taking them on full-time.
Guinta worked on concept for AI-powered travel platform during the course.
“The class gave me the space to explore customer discovery, product strategy and go-to-market planning, all with AI at the center of that process,” Guinta said. “It ended up being the most valuable class I’ve taken in the program.”
Guinta acknowledged that many are wary of AI, likely because of a negative first experience with the technology. It is changing so fast, however, that she suggested professionals revisit and reevaluate.
“You want to keep an open mind so you can lean on the tools to bring value to your business,” Guinta said. “It’s absolutely critical to jump on the train, or else you’ll get left behind… It’s critical to make sure your skill set is up to date and that you can capitalize on the innovations that are coming out so rapidly.”
At SDSU, students are being trained to incorporate AI into their work.
“We are encouraging MBA students to ethically and thoughtfully use generative AI across the curriculum and especially in their capstone consulting projects for initial research, particularly when exploring unfamiliar industries,” Moshavi said. “In particular, we want to help students learn to utilize and critically assess AI-generated content, integrate it with traditional research methods and make informed, ethical decisions — skills increasingly demanded by employers.”
In one of Kedia’s courses, students were divided into two groups and debated the opportunities and challenges of AI. Kedia said that, at its end, the debate revealed that opportunities outweighed challenges.
One such challenge is job loss. Kedia asserted that companies replacing employees with AI to improve their bottom line in the short-term is a nearsighted view of AI’s impact on the workforce. In the medium- and long-term, he said, utilizing AI is about growing the top line and creating new value through drug discovery, improving education systems and creating more, better jobs.
At Knauss, Kedia said, there is active investment in upskilling students so that they are equipped to navigate any role changes caused by AI integration.
“Let’s have AI do what AI does best and let humans focus on what humans do best,” Kedia said.
For example, Kedia said that AI can revolutionize elder care, citing that currently there is only one caretaker for every 10 elders, and most of their time is taken up by paperwork. He said that AI can increase time dedicated to human-to-human care.
While some students use AI to cheat on assignments, Kedia and Moshavi agree that it is a manageable behavior.
“While we embrace [AI], it has caused us to rethink how we assess student learning,” Moshavi said. “Our pathway forward is to integrate more experiential learning (consulting projects, simulations, etc.) where generative AI tools can add real value.”
SDSU has also established generative AI guidelines, sourcing faculty and student collaboration to ensure timely and thoughtful practices.
“As AI continues to evolve, SDSU is committed to educating our campus community on best practices for responsible AI use,” Moshavi said. “SDSU’s IT resources, including the ChatGPT Edu initiative offered through the California State University system, and our launch of the SDSU Academic Applications of Artificial Intelligence micro-credential program, aim to provide support and a wide variety of scenarios and simulations to teach students, faculty and staff to navigate AI tools effectively and ethically.”
Born and raised in San Diego, Madison takes great pride in local storytelling. Her coverage at the San Diego Business Journal includes tourism, hospitality, nonprofits, education and retail. An alumna of San Diego State University’s journalism program, she has written for publications including The San Diego Union-Tribune and The San Diego Sun. At the 2024 San Diego Press Club awards, Madison was recognized for her exemplary profile writing. She was also a speaker for the 2023 TEDx Conference at Bonita Vista High School. When she’s not working on her next story, Madison can be found performing music at a local restaurant or on one of San Diego’s many hiking trails.
Originally published San Diego Business Journal