MSBA Students from the Tepper School of Business Showcase Google's Generative AI Potential in Hackathon

In a recent Google hackathon hosted by Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business, Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSBA) students explored the potential of Google's generative AI products. Focused on MakerSuite and the PaLM Application Programming Interface (API), students used the PaLM 2 large language model (LLM) to prototype solutions across various areas impacting businesses and consumers. The event highlighted the practical applications and creative exploration of artificial intelligence (AI) within business.

During the hackathon, student teams presented ideas for a variety of generative AI solutions. These ranged from assisting users in filling out "Request for Proposal" forms for an investment firm, and an educational assistant tool to help students plan for their future careers. Other teams focused on providing recommendations for restaurants and another for recommending movies. 

The team that took first place developed the Docupresenter, a tool to transform text-based content into engaging presentations with the help of Google's PaLM2 API. The tool aims to democratize educational resources by creating presentations tailored to specific audiences and languages. Currently, the tool can process a Google Drive folder containing various books, articles, and documents. Users provide a prompt specifying the presentation's topic, the age group of the audience, and the desired language. Based on these criteria, the tool generates a basic yet tailored presentation.

"Personally, I have been intrinsically motivated to contribute to the education space for a long time,” said Aniruddh Ingle, a member of the team working on Docupresenter. “This Google Hackathon provided a great opportunity for me to try out the new PaLM API and contribute to the education space. I think the greatest part of this entire process is how fast we can go from an idea to a functioning product since we were able to use Bard and ChatGPT to code, which drastically reduced the development time.”

He praised the accessibility of project development by using LLM’s.

“The Google Hackathon provided me with an exceptional opportunity to collaborate with brilliant minds from diverse backgrounds,” said Hritik Bhansali, another Docupresenter team member. Bhansali noted that the unique combination of engineering, business and analytical acumen helped his team navigate technical intricacies within the project while ensuring a comprehensive understanding of its broader applications.

“My most significant learning was the art of effective task delegation and the importance of setting small milestones,” said Bhansali. “This approach motivated each team member to build on their progress, contributing collectively to the completion of the larger task. The diversity in our backgrounds played a pivotal role in enhancing our problem-solving and collaboration skills. When one person faced a challenge, the varied expertise ensured that we could swiftly overcome hurdles, ultimately ensuring the successful realization of Docupresenter.”

Ganesh Mani, Distinguished Service Professor of Innovation Practice at the Tepper School, who oversees the MSBA capstone projects, said the hackathon is a meaningful example of how students blend practical applications and creative exploration.

“The teams not only demonstrated how to use AI in solving real-world problems but also offered valuable feedback to contribute to the responsible development of large language models,” Gani said.  

This event highlighted the importance of incorporating AI into business education to equip the next generation of business leaders to navigate the evolving relationship between AI technology and business. 

Students on the winning team included Tepper School MSBA students Sylvanne Braganza, Hritik Bhansali, Aniruddh Ingle, Ming Hsuan "Sherry" Li, and Xiyu "Cece" Zhang.