Andrew McAfee

ChatGPT and other types of generative AI (GenAI), a new and powerful type of artificial intelligence, has taken us by surprise – we weren’t expecting its capabilities to appear so soon. According to Andrew McAfee, Ph.D., principal research scientist at the MIT Sloan School of Management who was named among the top 50 management thinkers in the world, GenAI is already transforming jobs and industries and delivering unprecedented creativity and productivity boosts. However, these systems still have serious flaws that need to be addressed in order for them to realize their full impact. In this fundamentally optimistic talk, McAfee stresses that GenAI will improve the business world and our lives, and that many of their harms are overstated.

Over the past two decades, big tech companies have innovated and experimented with the standard Industrial Era business model, creating organizations that are now dominating the global economy. How do they do it, and will the bubble burst? In this talk, MIT digital economist and data scientist Andrew McAfee, Ph.D., co-founder of MIT’s Initiative on the Digital Economy, takes audiences on a deep dive into his book The Geek Way. He pulls back the curtain on what makes these “geek companies” consistently strong performers, how they excel at disrupting industries, and what traditional companies can learn from their freewheeling, fast-moving, evidence-driven, egalitarian, argumentative and autonomous cultures.

Traditional companies are being eclipsed by digital giants like Amazon and Google for one simple reason: they have figured out how to build better companies by creating a culture that consistently excels in three key areas: agility, innovation and execution. In this talk – based on his book The Geek Way – MIT digital economist and data scientist Andrew McAfee, Ph.D., co-founder of MIT’s Initiative on the Digital Economy, explains why these “geek companies” are consistently good in all three areas. He highlights the four norms they follow (science, ownership, speed and openness) and how they put them into practice. He then outlines how other companies can adopt geek cultures so they can better compete in the future and not get left behind.

The key factor that drives the success of tech giants like Amazon, Google, Facebook and Uber lies in their ability to leverage a digital operating model. Traditional businesses are getting left behind as these digital giants take over the economy, says MIT digital economist and data scientist Andrew McAfee, Ph.D., co-founder of MIT’s Initiative on the Digital Economy. In this talk, he explains why traditional companies must digitally transform their business if they want to survive in the new economy, how they can successfully make the transition, and what they need to do to prepare their workforce for the future.

After the pandemic, we have not returned to business as usual. AI and automation are changing how we divide up tasks between minds and machines, and remote work is changing where and how we interact and collaborate. Both of these changes are just getting started, and they’ll bring massive changes. Companies, cities, teamwork, and innovation will never be the same. In this talk, Andy McAfee will provide an optimistic, action-oriented roadmap for leadership and success in the Roaring Twenties.

Why do some businesses fail? What factors within your organization are creating bad habits and how do you break them? Do stock values reflect the real value of a company? MIT principal scientist and digital economist Andrew McAfee studies such dynamics within organizations, economies and industries and uses his research to help leaders identify and fix problems. In this talk, he shows participants how to leave behind inefficient and outdated systems and how to shape new business models that can leverage emerging opportunities for growth.

Growth does not have to happen at the expense of the environment, says MIT principal scientist and digital economist Andrew McAfee. He and his research team have collected massive amounts of data showing how technology has contributed to increased economic growth and decreased use of energy and natural resources since the 1970s. In this talk, he shares that data and offers up smart strategies for driving profits while taking less from the earth. In the process, participants get a sneak peek at emerging trends and technologies that will help them strike a balance between profit and purpose going forward. They also learn how to understand and address systemic problems within an organization or at the public policy level with solutions McAfee continues to uncover in his research.

While AI and machines are replacing some human jobs, more often than not they are working in tandem with humans to make their jobs easier. And now that machines, robots and AI have recently graduated to a place where they can speak, listen, write, understand and even empathize, such technologies are offering up profound opportunities for growth, understanding and problem solving, creating efficiencies in systems across sectors, industries and even languages. In this talk, MIT principal scientist and digital economist Andrew McAfee helps participants identify ways they can leverage AI and machines while still addressing the problem of human job losses with upskilling, retraining, incentive programs and other humanistic solutions.