Northwestern Kellogg (institutional)

Building AI Foundations for the Future

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.