LBS and The Wharton School examine human capital in the age of AI

On Thursday 11 December, London Business School hosted faculty, alumni and business leaders from The Wharton School to an event examining the role of human capital in the age of generative AI. Co-hosted by LBS’s Data Science & AI Initiative and Wharton’s Human-AI research programme, the event explored what the latest research reveals about how AI is reshaping organisations and critically, what remains fundamentally human.

The evening marked the launch of a new LBS Data Science & AI Initiative event series, running throughout 2026. Hosted by Professor Nicos Savva, Co-Director of the initiative, alongside Professor Stefano Puntoni of Wharton School, the discussion opened with candid industry insights from Professor Michael G Jacobides. The focus was not simply on whether AI is transformative, but on how leaders can navigate its impact without losing sight of human judgement and responsibility.

Professor Puntoni then presented findings from Wharton’s latest Gen AI Adoption report, based on a survey of 800 senior professionals. The research highlighted a pronounced seniority gap: while C-suite executives reported significantly more positive outcomes from AI adoption, middle managers were less optimistic. This divergence suggests either greater strategic visibility at the top, or a heavier implementation burden lower down the organisation. Notably, the greatest barriers to successful AI deployment were not technical. Recruitment, employee engagement and leadership emerged as the most significant challenges.

Bringing theory into practice, Professor Savva demonstrated Google’s newly released Nano Banana Pro model, underscoring the gap between AI’s promise and operational reality. “Sometimes I feel like the captain of the Titanic, as it was striking an iceberg,” he remarked, an analogy that captured the scale of opportunity and the complexity of steering organisations through rapid technological change.

The evening concluded with an audience Q&A and networking, blending academic rigour with the real-world perspectives of London’s business community.

Launched earlier this year, the LBS Data Science & AI Initiative aims to bridge the gap between cutting-edge research and practical business application, helping leaders make informed, human-centred decisions in an AI-driven world.