AI Fundamentals for Business Leaders (Live Online, Half‑Day)

As AI adoption accelerates across industries, you risk being left behind if you lack a basic understanding. According to a recent McKinsey report, most organizations are applying AI in at least one business function. Business leaders without a solid grasp of AI urgently need to build foundational knowledge and AI literacy to gain confidence and remain competitive.

This half-day online session offers a clear, jargon-free AI Fundamentals course for business professionals. You’ll gain a strong foundation in key concepts — such as machine learning, deep learning, and generative AI — through relatable, everyday examples.

The session highlights the main drivers of AI in business, its limitations and ethical considerations, and ways to identify opportunities within your organization. By examining real-world use cases and applying practical frameworks, you will leave equipped to ask the right questions, recognize where AI fits, and confidently engage in conversations with executives about the path forward.

This AI Fundamentals program is designed for business leaders and professionals who are new to AI, have limited experience, or want a concise update — and it serves as a gateway to other AI programs in our Professional and Executive Development portfolio.

Benefits

After participating in this AI literacy program, participants will be able to explain AI fundamentals, identify where AI can create value — and understand pitfalls such as bias or poor-quality data — and plan initial next steps for using AI at your organization.

Through this program, you will:

• Build AI literacy quickly in a half‑day, live online format — no coding required.
• Develop the confidence to understand and contribute meaningfully to AI conversations in business settings.
• Develop the ability to spot and frame potential AI use cases in your organization.
• Engage responsibly with AI initiatives by understanding ethical and risk considerations.
• Strengthen your professional credibility by demonstrating AI literacy in conversations with peers, teams, and leadership.

Participants will also earn a Certificate of Completion from Harvard Division of Continuing Education, further validating their expertise.

Who Should Take AI Fundamentals

Designed for business leaders and professionals across industries, this foundational, non‑technical AI Fundamentals program helps participants build AI literacy, gain confidence, and apply core concepts in their organizations.

Curriculum

In addition to covering the basics of AI, this program also reviews the real-world applications of AI in business, drawing on examples from marketing, supply chain management, and other areas.

Topics covered include:

• What AI Is (and Isn’t): AI, machine learning, deep learning, and Generative AI explained.
• How AI Works (A Non-Technical Overview): Basics of data, algorithms, and training in powering AI models
• Key Business Drivers of AI: Efficiency, innovation, and transformation, with cases from marketing, supply chain, and other functional areas.
• Risks, Ethics, & Governance: AI opportunities and risks leaders should weigh, such as data quality, algorithmic bias, and the role of leadership and oversight in ensuring responsible AI use.
• Next Steps: How to spot potential AI opportunities, key questions to ask, and a starter framework for moving forward.