🎓 Guess how a top Ivy league MBA program teaches deep learning, neural networks, and generative AI to its students?

The answer: A simple spreadsheet.

Mind-blown at Columbia Business School’s Professor Daniel Guetta’s masterclass earlier this week during our alumni gathering at LA’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA).

Most AI talks I’ve attended were either too technical or too superficial. This was different.

Standing in MOCA’s board room, Prof. Guetta brilliantly used spreadsheets to visualize word embeddings as “DNA” of language. He illustrated key concepts by loading a small LLM representation to the spreadsheets, filled with embedding (vectors) of most commonly used English words. Even with my technical background, this fresh perspective made ChatGPT’s complexity instantly digestible.

After the lecture, we went downstairs to the main gallery for a private tour with MOCA’s Senior Curator, Anna Katz.

As we explored the main exhibit “Ordinary People: Photorealism and the Work of Art since 1968,” deeper questions emerged. In an era where AI tools like Midjourney can generate photorealistic art with a few prompts, what defines the essence of art? Will AI-generated pieces someday stand alongside human creations in museums like MOCA? These questions lingered as I absorbed each masterpiece.

While the answers remain complex, I left grateful for this afternoon of learning, reflection, and connection with fellow Columbia alumni. What a wonderful way to conclude the year.

Key Takeaway: Innovation in teaching isn’t about new tools - it’s about making complex ideas accessible and memorable.

Special thanks to Nancy Kwon Merrihew for hosting us, and to Minkyung Kim for organzing the event on behalf of Columbia Alumni Association of Southern California (Columbia SoCal).

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