Five resources on Artificial Intelligence to provide focus
Cut through the noise on Artificial Intelligence with this reading list from our Professor of Operations Management Yalçın Akçay.
There’s so much noise surrounding Artificial Intelligence, that it can be difficult to know what’s worth paying attention to.
This reading list from Professor Yalçın Akçay is designed to help leaders focus, ask the right questions, and use AI to create better value for your organisations.
Professor Akçay teaches Operations Management at the MBA, Executive MBA and Senior Executive MBA programs. He specialises in Data, Data Analytics and Operations.
His selection includes a digestible mix of articles and podcasts from experts in the AI space. Articles by Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review may require a subscription to read.
Podcast | The GenAI productivity trap: why faster isn’t always better
Gartner Senior Director Analyst Nate Suda
Gartner ThinkCast
July 15, 2025
This podcast explores the adoption of Generative AI in business and why time saved doesn’t always translate into measurable business value.
Gartner's Senior Director Analyst in the AI Strategy team Nate Suda breaks down how organisations can avoid mistaking efficiency gains for sustainable return on investment and how to prevent ‘productivity leakage’.
It’s a pragmatic listen with a clear framework to define productivity beyond speed and to get the most value out of GenAI.
Recalculating the costs and benefits of Gen AI
Mark Mortensen
Harvard Business Review
June 23, 2025
In this article, organisational behaviour expert Mark Mortensen challenges leaders to ask the question: ‘In what way does each activity we do create true and unique value?’
He argues leaders are so focused on the value of the outputs that AI produces organisations could be destroying more value than they create with GenAI adoption.
While AI can help us produce a greater volume of output, more quickly, with less human effort, Mortensen highlights we could be overlooking the importance of other sources of value such as how we build relationships.
It’s essential reading for leaders aiming to create sustainable value.
Turbocharging organizational learning with GenAI
Paul Baier and John J. Sviokla
MIT Sloan Management Review
Jan 13, 2025
This article provides expert insights into how Generative AI can radically improve an organisation’s ability to learn.
In this article, Baier and Sviokla share how GenAI can significantly expand knowledge sharing, innovation, and competitive advantage.
They provide real-world examples of organisations using GenAI as an organisational capability rather than a stand-alone new technology for compound benefits including boosting skills and adaptive thinking across an organisation.
How Gen AI and analytical AI differ — and when to use each
Thomas H. Davenport and Peter High
Harvard Business Review
December 14, 2024
This article explores the benefits of analytical AI, which is often overlooked in favour of Generative AI.
Analytical AI involves analysing data, identifying patterns and making predictions. It provides valuable insights for organisations to interpret their data and make better decisions.
Davenport and High advise leaders to better understand both analytical and generative AI to assess their distinct benefits and risks, and know when to use each for maximum impact.
Podcast | Mustafa Suleyman (on artificial intelligence)
Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
September 14, 2023
In this podcast episode, Mustafa Suleyman, co-founder of DeepMind and author of The Coming Wave explores how close artificial intelligence is getting to the human brain.
He shares how AI has evolved from rule-based systems to today’s generative and emerging agentic models, capable of autonomous decision-making and creative problem-solving.
Suleyman outlines real-world applications in fields such as healthcare, climate modelling, and energy.
He warns of risks including bias, misinformation, and the concentration of power in a few organisations, advocating for transparent standards and robust governance.
Yalçın Akçay is a Professor of Operations Management and teaches Operations Management at the MBA, Executive MBA and Senior Executive MBA programs.
