Foundations of Frontier Technologies

This unit introduces the technological, economic, and legal landscape of frontier technologies—focusing on exponential change, artificial intelligence (including generative models like GPT), blockchain mechanisms, and their effects on money and banking. Students will build a systems-level understanding that prepares them to lead, evaluate policy, and design business strategies in subsequent units.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze exponential growth patterns in computing, networks, and data and assess their projected effects on business models and societal systems
• Evaluate the capabilities, limitations, and ethical risks of artificial intelligence and generative models (e.g., GPT) and propose mitigation and governance strategies for organizational deployment
• Demonstrate understanding of blockchain fundamentals and mechanisms by comparing consensus models, describing token and ledger functions, and assessing appropriate use cases in finance and management
• Evaluate contemporary legal, regulatory, and economic implications of frontier technologies (AI, blockchain, digital finance) to recommend governance and strategic approaches for leaders