MIT Sloan Management Review Article on Intelligent Choices Reshape Decision-Making and Productivity

Artificial intelligence can offer better options for better strategic outcomes.

Profitably thriving through market disruptions demands that executives recognize that better decisions aren’t enough — they need better choices. Choices are the raw material of decision-making; without diverse, detailed, and high-quality options, even the best decision-making processes underperform. Traditional dashboards and scorecards defined by legacy accounting and compliance imperatives reliably measure progress but can’t generate the insights or foresight needed to create superior choices. They weren’t designed for that.

Generative AI and predictive systems are. They can surface hidden options, highlight overlooked interdependencies, and suggest novel pathways to success. These intelligent systems and agents don’t just support better decisions — they inspire them. As greater speed to market and adaptability rule, AI-enhanced measurement systems increasingly enable executives to better anticipate, adapt to, and outmaneuver the competition. Our research offers compelling evidence that predictive and generative AI systems can be trained to provide better choices, not just better decisions.

About the Author

Michael Schrage is a research fellow with the MIT Sloan School of Management’s Initiative on the Digital Economy. His research, writing, and advisory work focuses on the behavioral economics of digital media, models, and metrics as strategic resources for managing innovation opportunity and risk.

David Kiron is the editorial director, research, of MIT Sloan Management Review and program lead for its Big Ideas research initiatives.

Learn more about MIT SMR.