NCCapital

Harvard Business School is experimenting with artificial intelligence in the classroom by offering a new program that features AI-generated avatars modeled after its own instructors. The initiative reflects a growing effort by universities to use generative AI to expand access to education beyond the limits of traditional classrooms and faculty schedules.

According to WebNovare, faculty members have volunteered to create digital "clones" of themselves for an eight-week entrepreneurial bootcamp called H.B.S. Foundry. The program is designed to give aspiring entrepreneurs access to virtual versions of experienced instructors who can provide guidance at any time.

The $699 program allows students to interact with AI-powered avatars while practicing important business scenarios. Participants can rehearse investor pitches, prepare for board meetings, test ideas, and receive feedback from virtual guides designed to reflect the expertise and teaching styles of the faculty members they represent.

One of the biggest advantages of the technology is availability. Traditional professors can only teach a limited number of students and are constrained by schedules, classrooms, and office hours. AI avatars, by comparison, can potentially interact with students around the clock.

The experiment could give Harvard Business School a way to extend its educational services beyond its traditional degree programs. Harvard admits roughly 900 MBA students each year, but AI-powered courses could allow the institution to reach a much larger audience without requiring the same expansion in physical classrooms or faculty hours.

The technology also raises questions about what students are actually receiving when they interact with an AI version of a professor. While an avatar may be trained to reflect an instructor's knowledge, communication style, and teaching approach, it remains a simulation rather than the faculty member themselves.

For some students, that distinction may matter. Part of the value of an elite business education comes from direct interaction with professors, classmates, alumni, and industry leaders. Critics may question whether an AI-generated facsimile can reproduce the spontaneous conversations, personal relationships, and human judgment that come with traditional instruction.

Supporters, however, argue that AI avatars could make high-quality education more accessible and personalized. A virtual instructor could potentially spend unlimited time answering questions, conducting practice sessions, and adapting feedback to an individual student's needs.

Harvard's experiment is part of a broader shift across education, where schools and universities are increasingly exploring how generative AI can supplement traditional teaching. AI tutors, automated feedback systems, personalized learning tools, and virtual instructors could all become more common as the technology improves.

The success of H.B.S. Foundry may ultimately depend on whether students view AI instructors as a meaningful extension of human teaching rather than a replacement for it. If the program proves effective, Harvard's experiment could offer a glimpse at how prestigious institutions use artificial intelligence to scale their expertise—while forcing students to decide whether they are comfortable learning from a digital version of a real professor.