ESCP announces new AI Initiatives Coordinator: An interview with Professor Louis-David Benyayer

What initially sparked your interest in AI, and how did you end up leading AI initiatives at our school?

My interest in AI started with data. 10 years ago, I wrote a book on the value creation opportunities with data, Datanomics. One of the arguments in the book is that data have no value per se, they accrue value when they are used and in particular when used to make automated decisions. The best example of this is the recommendation algorithms on e-commerce websites. Machine learning algorithms leverage massive data about the users to predict what product they would be interested in buying.

Since then I have been very much involved in the school on topics around data and AI: teaching classes about the value creation opportunities with Data and AI, co-directing our MSc in Big Data and Business Analytics, launching our Exec MSc in Big data in Dubai, producing research, and developing executives education certificates. So when the public version of ChatGPT was released in November 2022, I was already quite engaged in the conversation and started to use it in my classes as well as asking my students to use it in class and for assignments. It's been a great way to learn about the impact of this technology on education.

After my first experiments, I started sharing these experiences with colleagues, and as there was a lot of curiosity and interest, I volunteered to prepare an online course for the faculty on "Using Generative AI in Teaching" in January 2024. With all the conversations going on within the faculty and in business about the technology, the leadership of the school decided to structure and scale our initiatives. Among the first actions was the creation of this position which aims to coordinate all the efforts within the school and to partner with OpenAI to access the best-in-class technology.

What excites you the most about working in AI within an educational environment?

I would say I am excited both because AI is an opportunity for change and because the stakes are high. It's an opportunity for change because Generative AI is a new tool for our pedagogy. It stimulates creativity for teaching differently and it requires some adaptation, in particular for how we assess our students. The stakes are high because this technology can be detrimental to our students' learning if not used properly.

If our students use Generative AI as a substitute for their own efforts, they learn less and they fail to develop necessary skills. We have a responsibility as a business school to prepare our students for the workplace and equip them with the skills to succeed. When we award a degree, we certify they have acquired specific skills. So the stake for us is to ensure our students use Generative AI as a way to learn more or better, not as a substitute. The majority of them are aware of the issue. For example, they have already experienced that their Spanish speaking level doesn't improve when they use translation software for their essays.

What values or guiding principles shape your approach to AI and its implementation?

We want to develop an "if and how" approach, both for using AI in teaching and for AI as a topic of our classes. This means that we are conscious of the benefits and the challenges or issues. We want to consider AI as a tool, nothing more. When it comes to using it in teaching, our north star is the learning of our students. We want to develop tools and approaches that maximise their ability to learn. In some cases, AI appears as a learning booster and in others as a learning hindrance. Similarly, other pedagogical tools have shown remarkable performance: case study discussions, simulations, company projects, etc.

When it comes to addressing AI as a topic in our programmes, we want to train our students about the possibilities offered in the workplace but also about the risks and challenges: environmental footprint, biases, deepfakes, human labour, etc. Our objective is to train them to use AI ethically.