The Center for Artificial Intelligence in Business
The Center for Artificial Intelligence in Business conducts research and outreach in order to realize the potential of AI through intentional design and governance frameworks centering on human judgment and creativity, working in conjunction with the university’s Artificial Intelligence Interdisciplinary Institute at Maryland (AIM).
Mission: To facilitate the creation of amazing and safe products and services through intentional AI-enabled design and governance frameworks
Transforming teaching, research and the practice of business
AI is already transforming the way people work, and presents major threats and opportunities for business and society.
At the Smith School, our robust research enterprise explores the capabilities of AI as well as the careful design of incentives and penalties, governance and management strategies, the balancing of short-term and long-term interests, and the future of labor itself. Our learnings can guide industry and government in the responsible and effective use of these new tools for those seeking to formulate a winning AI strategy.
In the classroom, we also lead the way in teaching generative and contextual AI across undergraduate and graduate programs. Students learn how to assess and mitigate the bias in the underlying data and the resulting AI models, track the provenance of data that is training large language models, design jobs and workflows that help workers leverage human capabilities such as empathy, creativity, judgment and leadership in concert with capabilities of AI systems and models and design AI systems to match the role that they will play for a given task.
2026 UMD Agentic AI Challenge
Friday, April 24, 2026 | 1:00-4:00 p.m.
Tyser Auditorium, Room 1212
Van Munching Hall
This Agentic AI Challenge is a hands-on competition where student teams design, build, and test autonomous AI agents to solve real-world business and operational problems. Over a four-week timeline, participants move from proposal to prototype to final demonstration, focusing on measurable performance, cost efficiency, reliability, and safety. The challenge emphasizes practical deployment under real-world constraints, culminating in live evaluation and presentations of working systems.
Free Online Certificate in Artificial Intelligence and Career Empowerment
Ready to pivot your career with purpose? This free course from the Robert H. Smith School of Business explores how AI is reshaping industries—and your future. Learn from top professors and industry experts, dive into real-world use cases in marketing, tech, and more, and walk away with practical tools to navigate change, seize new opportunities, and thrive in an AI-driven world.
Research and Thought Leadership
The Smith School faculty have always made it their priority to stay ahead of emerging technologies as they pertain to business, and AI has shown itself to be applicable to every facet of every industry. From professional baseball to robots to equitable pricing, our top-ranked researchers are working hard to uncover all of the incredible uses AI can serve.
AI has always been about ‘intelligence,’ and it is particularly exciting that we are at a point in time where we can realize all this potential for business and society. This will require a level of understanding of AI that most business schools’ MBA curricula currently aren't equipped to provide, but the Smith School’s is.
Balaji Padmanabhan
Center Director and Dean's Professor of Decisions, Operations & Information Technologies
2026 AI Symposium on Design and Governance
Wednesday, April 8, 2026 | Noon–5:00 p.m.
Samuel Riggs Alumni Center
As artificial intelligence continues to reshape industries and institutions, business and policy leaders are confronting consequential strategic decisions. The AI Symposium at the Robert H. Smith School of Business convenes leading practitioners and scholars developing real-world AI solutions for a focused afternoon of presentations, panel discussions and professional exchange.
The third annual AI Symposium on Design and Governance will feature firsthand perspectives from business leaders examining the opportunities, constraints and governance considerations involved in deploying AI effectively and responsibly.
AI in Business Education
During this Poets & Quants panel, Professor Padmanabhan described Smith's approach to addressing all of the important areas that MBA students need to be aware of regarding AI: capabilities, design, applications and governance.
When asked how AI will impact recruiting, he shared that MBA students should be thinking about how skills can be demonstrated as AI will help companies have more sophisticated screening in applications beyond scanning a static resume.
AI systems have evolved fast, spurring innovation, increasing productivity and creating new value for society. Yet they also introduce new and profound challenges. We should embrace rather than resist AI, and be aware of the strengths, weaknesses, dangers and opportunities inherent in these technologies.
Prabhudev C. Konana
Dean of the Robert H. Smith School of Business
Faculty Affiliates
Our faculty affiliates play an integral role in bringing the impact of AI into every department at Smith.
Professor of Practice
suresh12@umd.edu
Clinical Professor
tejanand@umd.edu
Associate Professor
mbjarnad@umd.edu
Director and Co-founder of the AI Initiative for Capital Market Research
scao824@umd.edu
Dean's Chair in Management Science
zlchen@umd.edu
Assistant Professor
wjchoi@umd.edu
PhD Affiliates
PhD Candidate in Information Systems
abaji@umd.edu
PhD Candidate in Information Systems
wgu123@umd.edu