GEMExpert: In the Age of AI, What Does It Mean to Be Competent Today?
Studying, working, or designing with AI—what does it change? Almost everything! Critical thinking takes precedence over knowledge, the nature of human value-added is shifting, and creation is becoming co-creation. GEM is assessing the scope of these changes through three European projects and one ANR project. The first observation: we are living in a changing world.
Interview with Federico Pigni, Director of Valorization and Innovation at GEM, and Thomas Gillier, associate professor at GEM and coordinator of the ANR InnovAI project.
Interview
How is AI fundamentally changing higher education?
Federico Pigni: The implications are significant. We thought we were in a knowledge economy; yet that knowledge is now freely accessible thanks to generative AI. The challenge for our students is no longer to accumulate knowledge, but to apply it: to craft relevant prompts and exercise informed critical thinking to evaluate the results. Without a solid understanding of a field, it’s impossible to detect what AI is confidently inventing.
We must therefore completely rethink our teaching methods. There’s no point in teaching a future management controller how to verify invoices: AI already excels at these repetitive tasks.
Are top business schools ready for this challenge?
F.P.: They have no choice, and AI provides them with the tools to take action. We create immersive environments to train students in soft skills, prepare them for sales interviews, or transport them to a future 10 years from now—from which they bring back ideas that can be put to use today.
We’re also moving toward personalized learning, which is more effective than one-size-fits-all programs: studies show that attention and retention improve when the program is tailored to each individual’s profile. We’re conducting experiments with learners equipped with connected devices that measure heart rate and mental load, so we can adapt the learning path in real time.
Are the changes just as profound when it comes to creating and generating ideas?
Thomas Gillier: Yes. No one can imagine doing without AI anymore, given its unbeatable speed and power: it can very quickly recombine a set of different concepts to generate ideas, and produces ideas that are just as creative—if not more so—than those of most people. But the creativity produced by AI remains limited to its training databases, whereas disruptive innovation requires new knowledge—something AI alone cannot produce.
The trend is toward co-creation, with a dominant model in which humans inject new knowledge, orchestrate the results suggested by AI, and guide the process. They have a tireless sparring partner, but it is they who set the course.
Is there no chance that AI will systematically become more creative than we are?
T.G.: At this point, that doesn’t seem to be the case. AI already produces extremely creative outputs, but it operates based on a specific dataset. By comparison, the realm of creation is infinitely expandable. AI excels at recombining what already exists. But to generate disruptive innovation or make major discoveries, it’s necessary to create new knowledge—something AI alone isn’t very good at.
It reflects a dominant way of thinking, a majority consensus:
“If AI had existed before Copernicus, it would undoubtedly have asserted that the Earth is at the center of the universe—the best possible synthesis of Ptolemaic cosmology: brilliant, coherent, and false. ”
Nevertheless, artists, scientists, and entrepreneurs would be wise to make use of it—not by taking its results at face value, but by asking it: What are the right questions to ask myself to guide my creative process?
How is this revolution impacting businesses?
F.P.: It drastically shifts the focus of value creation. Recently, a consultant offered to analyze 500 calls for proposals to identify which ones we should apply for. I did it myself using AI, in half a day. Not because the tool is magical, but because I could feed it something no external consultant possesses: our strategy, our actual priorities.
Domain knowledge is the fuel for AI, and in this case, I knew more than it did. On the other hand, this consultant excels at what no machine can replicate: her networks, her knowledge of the reviewers, and her ability to forge partnerships. AI doesn’t devalue human expertise; it refocuses it on what really matters.
T.G.: When it comes to creativity, entrepreneurs already rely heavily on AI to generate ideas and concepts through an iterative process. AI is highly compatible with entrepreneurs’ creative processes; it can solve problems and explore opportunities quickly. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter where the idea comes from, as long as it works—which makes AI highly compatible with this type of creativity. Conversely, artists place great importance on personal expression and the creator’s authenticity, while scientists must build and justify new knowledge rather than simply generate ideas. In both cases, AI can be a useful tool, but it aligns less naturally with what lies at the heart of their work.
Do companies have more time than higher education institutions to adapt?
F.P.: No, because they operate in a competitive environment: those with a strong competitive edge quickly gain the upper hand. But mastering AI requires acquiring new skills and constantly updating them. Companies are also embracing the immersive environments mentioned earlier to train salespeople, technicians, and maintenance specialists.
The pace of change is so rapid that we’re developing AI solutions capable of anticipating the skill needs driven by technological advances. When Rossignol launches a connected ski or John Deere brings agricultural drones to market, these innovations generate signals that are too weak to be detected by a traditional HR department. That’s where the dedicated AI we’re developing comes in: to detect these weak signals and help companies train their teams before it’s too late.
The publication
Major Research Projects
European Projects
- DIGI-ME (2024 – 2028)
- UPRAISE (2025 – 2029)
- UpSkillOne (2025 – 2028) )
ANR Project
- InnovAI (2026 – 2029)
Bio Express
Thomas Gillier
Thomas Gillier is an associate professor at Grenoble École de Management. He holds a Habilitation à Diriger des Recherches (HDR) from Mines Paris – PSL and was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship in 2021.
His research focuses on the processes of creativity, innovation, and imagination, particularly in the contexts of collaboration, open innovation, and artificial intelligence. At Grenoble École de Management, he teaches creativity, innovation management, and technology entrepreneurship to undergraduate students, students in specialized master’s programs, and participants in executive education programs.
Federico Pigni
Federico Pigni is Director of Valorization and Innovation at Grenoble École de Management, where he is also a professor of information systems in the Department of Technology Management and Strategy. He previously served as dean of the faculty, teaching, and research. He holds a Ph.D. in Management Information Systems and Supply Chain Management and also graduated with honors (cum laude) in Business Administration and Management.
