Intro to AI and Generative AI

Personal Benefits

• Gain a comprehensive understanding of AI and its strategic applications in business
• Learn to make informed decisions and drive innovation
• Discover practical insights into AI use-cases across various industries
• Identify immediate opportunities for efficiency and competitiveness
• Stay informed about emerging trends and future advancements in AI
• Get practical, hands-on experience with Generative AI tools, learning how to apply them to streamline workflows and enhance decision-making
• Gain insight into effective prompt engineering to drive innovation

Organizational Benefits

• Leaders, managers, and employees with a comprehensive understanding of AI
• Ability to drive innovation and enhance operational efficiency
• Quicker adoption of AI technologies, ensuring a competitive edge and sustainable growth
• Increased proficiency in Generative AI tools, leading to streamlined workflows, enhanced decision-making, and innovative business solutions
• Automation of routine tasks and the strategic use of AI for creating new value propositions, ensuring sustained competitive advantage

Program content

This interactive program will provide background knowledge about the fundamental building blocks of modern AI systems – data science and machine learning. 

On the first day, we will discuss the following:

• AI definitions, types of analytics and types of learning
• An overview of analytics and AI use-cases in various industries
• Current state of AI and what is on the horizon
• Exploration of the contemporary landscape of generative AI and its transformative impact on business operations
• Guidelines for integrating this powerful technology into business strategies for improved efficiency and enhanced competitiveness
• Potential risks and common pitfalls associated with generative AI to enable a balanced understanding of both good and bad use-cases
• Emerging trends and the exciting possibilities that the next wave of AI advancements holds for the business world

On the second day, we will focus on the topic of Generative AI. We will cover:

• A comprehensive exploration of the contemporary landscape of generative AI and its transformative impact on business operations
• Current state-of-the-art technologies, with a focus on how they could revolutionize various facets of business, including ChatGPT
• Clear guidelines on how to seamlessly integrate this powerful technology into business strategies for improved efficiency and enhanced competitiveness
• Emerging trends and the exciting possibilities that the next wave of AI advancements holds for the business world
• How AI can streamline workflows, enhance data-driven decision-making, and forge new value propositions
• Key elements and tactics for effective prompt engineering
• Experimentation, empowering participants to ideate and prototype AI-driven solutions tailored to their industries
• Automation of routine tasks and enhancing complex decision-making through the strategic use of generative AI tools

In-Person Learning

Learn alongside fellow participants from across the country, discovering best practices that span industries and sectors.

Our in-person programs include classroom learning sessions led by award-winning Smith School of Business professors and industry experts. Practice new skills in breakout sessions, projects and simulations, and apply your learning toward real-world case studies.

SmithToronto

SmithToronto is located on the 30th floor, 200 Front Street West in the heart of Canada's financial centre and is easily accessible by GO, subway and the PATH system.

Smith School of Business delivers many programs and classes at SmithToronto and it is home to the Master of Finance, Master of Management Analytics, and Master of Management in Artificial Intelligence programs. The site includes classrooms, meeting rooms, staff offices, special events spaces, and a variety of multi-media presentation systems.

As well, it includes three Boardroom Learning Centres with fully interactive videoconference capabilities. These rooms are used to deliver classes for Smith’s Executive and Accelerated MBA programs.

Session Leaders

Session leaders include senior professors from Smith School of Business and knowledgeable experts from industry. These outstanding teachers are constantly in touch with today's business world through real-world business experience, Board memberships and their own consulting practices.

Murray Lei

Management Analytics
Smith School of Business

Murray Lei is an Assistant Professor of Management Analytics and a Distinguished Research Fellow at Smith School of Business, Queen's University. His research focuses on developing data-driven frameworks that enable companies to make dynamic decisions under uncertainty. Additionally, he investigates how data-driven analytics can be aligned with societal values, particularly in the areas of privacy, fairness, and sustainability.

Murray’s research has been published in top-tier peer-reviewed academic journals and is supported by various funding agencies. His achievements have been recognized through multiple awards, including the New Researcher Achievement Award. He has collaborated with leading global tech companies such as Alibaba, Instacart, Flipkart, Staples, and Oracle Retail Labs, where he has contributed to developing real-time, large-scale analytics solutions.

Murray’s teaching interests span Business Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Operations Management, Supply Chain Management, and Revenue Management. He has extensive experience teaching these subjects across various academic levels, including professional graduate programs (such as Master's in Management Analytics), research-based graduate programs (M.Sc. and Ph.D.), and undergraduate courses.

Anton Ovchinnikov

Management Science and Operations Management
Smith School of Business

Anton Ovchinnikov is a Distinguished Professor of Management Analytics at Smith School of Business in Kingston, Canada. His research has been published in both the leading academic research and practice-oriented journals and has received numerous recognitions, such as being listed by UNESCO among the Top 100 AI projects to advance Sustainable Development Goals. Anton teaches courses on data-driven decision making, analytics and artificial intelligence (AI). He has won the “Faculty of the Year” Award at Smith twice and was a co-winner of the 2020 UPS Prize (for the world’s best program in analytics) by the Institute of Operations Research and Management Sciences (INFORMS). Anton is also a prolific case writer. His cases are among global bestsellers and he's won prestigious competitions for the best new cases in analytics multiple times.

Stephen Thomas

Management Analytics
Smith School of Business

With a unique ability to present technical topics in an easy-to-understand and inspiring way, Steve is a sought-after professor and AI expert at Queen’s University’s Smith School of Business. He leads both introductory and expert-level courses on multiple aspects of AI in undergraduate, graduate and executive education programs. He has been selected by students in the Master of Management Analytics as MMA Professor of the Year for the last three years running.

Holding PhD, MSc, and BSc degrees in Computer Science, Steve’s research focuses on analytics, machine learning, and natural language processing. His work has been published in leading journals including IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering, IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, Empirical Software Engineering, and others. In recognition of his work in the analytics and AI space, he was awarded a prestigious Scotiabank Scholar research grant.

Beyond teaching and research, Steve has run a big data startup company and conducted industrial operations research at Raytheon, a major U.S. defense contractor and commercial electronics company. He regularly consults with a wide range of organizations on the application of AI for best business outcomes.