Exploring the Impact of ChatGPT on Business School Education: Prospects, Boundaries, and Paradoxes

This essay explores the nuanced impact of generative AI technologies on management and business education, framed through three paradoxes: the Expertise Paradox suggests that AI’s adequate performance at lower-level tasks may weaken students’ development of higher-level thinking; the Innovation Paradox states that AI’s creativity aid could stifle original thinking; and the Equity Paradox highlights AI’s potential to provide immense gains to experts but disproportionately harm novices. We take the position that without “sensible” AI use guidelines in management education, AI is likely to have a net-negative effect on learning. This stance is based on our trials with ChatGPT on various cognitive tasks organized around the revised Bloom’s Taxonomy of learning. We identify areas where AI tools can enhance learning, such as comprehending established subject domains, as well as areas where they exhibit significant limitations, such as logical reasoning and critical thinking. We caution against the potential deskilling in critical thinking due to students’ overreliance on AI for basic tasks. To alleviate these challenges, we recommend sensible AI uses by students that support skill development without fostering overreliance. We also suggest how faculty, administrators, and employers may support students in getting the most out of this new tool.