As generative artificial intelligence rapidly reshapes how ideas are formed and decisions are made, Wharton Professor Jerry Wind argues that creativity, not technology alone, will define effective leadership in the years ahead.
In his upcoming book Creativity in the Age of AI, set for release in October 2025, Professor Wind says AI should be viewed as a force that strengthens human imagination rather than replaces it. The book arrives nearly five decades after Professor Wind began shaping how MBA students think about markets, strategy and innovation at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.
“Creativity is not just for artists. It applies to every individual and to every decision—personal, organizational, and societal,” Professor Wind said. He added that failures to address issues such as inequality, education gaps and political polarization reflect “a broader failure of imagination and creative problem-solving.”
Professor Wind, the Lauder Professor Emeritus of Marketing, spent 50 years at Wharton, where he led major initiatives including the creation of the Lauder Institute, the development of the Executive MBA program and a sweeping MBA curriculum redesign in 1990. He also founded the Wharton Fellows Program, which immersed senior executives in organizations reshaping global industries.
That experience eventually led Professor Wind to design one of Wharton’s most popular MBA electives, a course on creativity that examined how innovators across business, science, music and medicine generate new ideas and challenge entrenched thinking. The course later evolved into a global Coursera offering aimed at learners across professions and age groups.
In his new book, co-authored with Mukul Pandya and Deborah Yao, Professor Wind outlines 12 practical approaches to boosting creativity and explains how AI tools can enhance each one. Drawing on neuroscience, classroom experience and real-world experimentation, the book positions AI as a collaborative partner that expands human potential.
“AI doesn’t replace creativity, it amplifies it. The quality of the outcome reflects the creativity of the person using it,” Professor Wind said.
Professor Wind points to examples ranging from AI-assisted travel planning to poetry generation and customer service systems that outperform human agents. In creative fields such as music and design, he argues that the strongest results emerge when humans and AI work together, rather than when technology operates alone.
Professor Wind also sees implications for business education. While schools excel at analytics and quantitative rigor, he believes they lag in cultivating imagination and problem framing. Creativity, he says, offers a bridge between data driven decision making and ethical, meaningful leadership.
The book targets executives, students, educators and anyone seeking to navigate an AI-driven world more creatively. Professor Wind hopes it encourages readers to challenge assumptions, experiment boldly and pair human judgment with emerging technologies to solve complex problems.
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