Harvard's startup bootcamp uses AI avatars of its instructors

The gist

• Harvard Business School's eight-week HBS Foundry bootcamp costs $699 and includes AI avatars of its instructors, built by the startup HeyGen.
• The program runs live weekly sessions with real instructors, but the AI avatars deliver the feedback during practice pitches and board meetings.
• New York Times reporter Sarah Kessler pitched an AI-generated copy of Flybridge Capital co-founder Jeff Bussgang on an "Uber for bananas" idea, and noted the virtual version held a noticeably frozen smile.
• Project director Katharina Rings said she originally pictured the AI component as more of a chatbot, but students who tried a trial version asked for a more guided experience.
• Bussgang called his digital copy a little "creepy" but said, "My students love it."

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