If/Then

Professor Ed deHaan discusses the importance of financial literacy and understanding accounting principles for individuals. He advocates for early financial education and rational decision-making when it comes to money. By equipping youth with financial knowledge, we can empower informed consumers and leaders to make better financial choices.

Ken Shotts, a Stanford professor, discusses how good intentions alone aren't enough and the importance of binding institutions to uphold values. From organizational incentives to societal regulations, he highlights the need for concrete policies to align with stated values at personal, organizational, and societal levels.

Whether or not robots can feel is a question that, at least for now, might be better left to the philosophers. But what’s becoming increasingly clear, says Associate Professor Szu-chi Huang, is that robots do have the capacity to make us feel. In this episode of If/Then: Business, Leadership, Society, Huang delves into the effect that robots can have not just on our emotions, but on our behavior.Huang’s research shows that when people witness people helping others, they’re inspired to do the same. This is what she calls “pro-social” behavior. But she wondered: what happens when a robot is the one lending a helping hand? Are people inspired to by machines?To find out, Huang designed a study where participants were shown various news reports about natural disasters and the measures being taken in response. In some stories, the “heroes” were human first responders; in others, they were robots. “In both cases, we [explained] in detail what those heroes were doing,” says Huang. Whether dragging survivors out of ruins after an earthquake or disinfecting hospitals amidst a surging COVID-19 pandemic, “The actions are exactly the same, but the heroes are different.”Following test subjects’ exposure to these stories, Huang measured their willingness to engage in pro-social behavior, like donating to support children in need. What she found was those who saw robot heroes were significantly less likely to donate than those who saw humans take the same actions. “The robot stories actually make people feel less inspired,” says Huang. “And that has important consequences. If using robots lowers our intention to help others, it could have a pretty big negative social impact.”So what do we do as AI and robots play an increasing role in our lives? How do we embrace their benefits without downgrading our humanity and pro-sociability in the process? On this episode of If/Then, Huang explores how “humanizing” robots — highlighting their vulnerability, autonomy, and finitude — helps us connect with them and ourselves more deeply.TakeawaysWe are inspired to help people when we see others doing so. But what if it’s robots lending a helping hand? Are we still motivated to also help? How we “humanize” robots — choosing features that highlight their vulnerability, autonomy, and finitude — could help us connect with them and ourselves more deeply.More Resources:Robots or Humans for Disaster Response? Impact on Consumer Prosociality and Possible Explanations, Journal of Consumer Psychology Think Fast, Talk Smart: The Podcast: From Dreaming to Doing: How We Set and Achieve GoalsFrom Stanford GSB Insights:Why We See Rescue Robots as Helpers, Not HeroesRedefining Success: Adopt the Journey Mindset to Move ForwardIf/Then is a podcast from Stanford Graduate School of Business that examines research findings that can help us navigate the complex issues we face in business, leadership, and society.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Stanford finance professor Darrell Duffie discusses central bank digital currencies, highlighting benefits like improved financial inclusion and lower payment costs. He emphasizes the need for balanced regulation to foster innovation while mitigating risks. The conversation also touches on challenges like privacy concerns and the impact on the US dollar's global dominance.

Stanford economics professor Mohammad Akbarpour challenges the conventional view that money is an objective measure of value. He argues that people value money differently based on their circumstances. By considering money's subjectivity, we can design more equitable markets that maximize value and welfare for more people.

Discover how emotions play a crucial role in decision-making process with insights from Professor Baba Shiv. Uncover the power of embracing artistic thinking and the impact of emotions on confidence in decision-making. Explore the blend of science and art in leadership for effective decision-making outcomes.

Immigrants’ contributions to America include culture, cuisine — and groundbreaking ideas. “No one is that surprised that immigrants play a disproportionate role in innovation,” says Rebecca Diamond, a professor of economics at Stanford Graduate School of Business. But, she notes, “Innovation in itself is an elusive thing to measure.” By studying patents, Diamond has revealed new insights into the important role immigrants play in fueling innovation. Diamond explains more in this episode of If/Then: Business, Leadership, Society.Today, foreign-born Americans make up around 10% of the population of the United States. Yet, as Diamond found in her research, immigrants are responsible for 24% of recent U.S. patents. What’s more, she explains, these immigrant inventors serve as catalysts for their native-born collaborators, pushing them to be more creative. Altogether, Diamond says, “You find that 36% of all innovation can be attributed to immigrants.”“That’s a big number,” Diamond says. This finding not only highlights immigrants’ outsize contribution to the U.S. economy but also provides a glimpse into the teamwork that generates new ideas. “The way to have successful innovation is not to just put smart people in a room by themselves and tell ’em to think hard,” she says. “It’s to collaborate and work together and create new ideas through the synergies of their knowledge.”Immigration is a contentious political issue. Diamond notes that “any policies that would limit or lower the number of immigrants coming to the U.S. for these super high-skill innovative jobs would have a large effect on future innovation.” As this episode of If/Then explores, for America to remain a source of new ideas that contribute to economic growth and technological progress, we’ve got to understand the vital link between immigration and innovation.Key Takeaways:Outsize impact: Immigrant inventors register more patents than native-born Americans. While only 10% of U.S. citizens are immigrants, immigrants are responsible for 24% of recent patents.The collaboration connection: Immigrants positively influence the productivity of their American collaborators.The global knowledge network: Immigrants are more likely to cite foreign patents and are more likely to be cited by patents produced abroad. More Resources:Rebecca Diamond is the Class of 1988 Professor of Economics at Stanford Graduate School of Business.A New Look at Immigrants’ Outsize Contribution to Innovation int he U.S. Voices of Stanford GSB faculty, Rebecca DiamondIf/Then is a podcast from Stanford Graduate School of Business that examines research findings that can help us navigate the complex issues we face in business, leadership, and society.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Professor Bill Barnett discusses the need for organizations to embrace crazy ideas to address complex issues like climate change. He emphasizes that failure is essential for innovation and encourages a culture that fosters unconventional and risky ideas. By promoting non-consensus thinking, organizations can create breakthroughs and solutions to big challenges.

Kuang Xu, associate professor of operations, information, and technology at Stanford Graduate School of Business, discusses the polarized reactions to AI and how it inhibits decision-making. When implemented strategically, AI can provide data for informed decisions. Leaders need to shift their mindset from fear to embracing AI's data-driven capabilities. The podcast explores emotions in AI decision-making, AI benefits for everyday tasks, limitations of AI, and the use of AI in decision-making processes.

Deborah H. Gruenfeld, a professor of organizational behavior, discusses the primal forces that drive our behavior and the formation of hierarchies. She emphasizes the need to understand these animal forces to modify existing power structures. The podcast explores strategies for overcoming power imbalances in the workplace and highlights the influence of power on self-regulation and behavior.