Building AI Foundations for the Future

Why It Matters

By giving managers practical AI experience, the program accelerates responsible adoption and creates a talent pipeline capable of turning AI hype into measurable business value.

Key Takeaways

• Hands‑on AI projects build practical manager confidence in decision‑making
• Course focuses on 5% new AI knowledge, 95% existing expertise
• Students create agents solving real problems from personal domains
• Learning by building demystifies AI as approachable tool
• Comfort with AI enables informed decisions, not blind adoption

Summary

Sebastian Martin, an associate professor of operations at Kellogg, introduced his new course AI Foundations for Managers, a five‑week, lab‑focused class where students design and deploy AI agents. The curriculum emphasizes hands‑on experimentation, requiring participants to build agents that address problems drawn from their own professional or personal experiences, such as prior companies, campus clubs, or family needs. The core teaching premise is that effective AI use hinges on a modest 5% of new technical knowledge combined with 95% of the students’ existing domain expertise. By constructing functional agents, students quickly internalize concepts that often appear daunting, gaining confidence to discuss, adopt, or reject AI tools based on informed judgment rather than hype. Martin repeatedly stresses that “AI is not as complicated as it sounds” and that the class’s goal is to “unlock this 5%” of expertise. He highlights the shift from viewing AI as a mysterious threat to seeing it as an accessible, practical instrument that can be tailored to solve concrete, familiar challenges. The broader implication is a new generation of managers equipped with tangible AI fluency, ready to integrate intelligent solutions responsibly across industries. This confidence‑building approach reduces organizational fear, accelerates thoughtful adoption, and positions firms to leverage AI for competitive advantage.

Original Description

“This course was a gamechanger for me.”

AI Foundations for Managers is a deep dive into the fundamentals of artificial intelligence. In Professor Sebastien Martin’s pioneering course, students gain real mastery over AI tools then build their own AI agents to address real-world challenges.

All in a matter of weeks.

For Richa Jatia ’26 One-Year Program, that meant creating a chatbot for Atmasantosh Foundation, the nonprofit she founded to support underserved students in India. Her agent analyzes conversations with students to assess mood, risk and context, flagging potential issues for human staff to address.

“I wouldn’t have known these tools existed or discovered that someone like me, with a non-technical background, could actually build something functional from scratch.” Richa says.

Thanks to Professor Martin’s expertise and “contagious passion,” students walk away from the course with a strong command of AI tools and the essential vocabulary they need to navigate a rapidly evolving landscape.

Learn more about this innovative Kellogg course and how it’s shaping business education around the world: https://kell.gg/693660