MIT SMR-TCS Study Explores How AI Helps Humans Make Smarter Choices
TCS and MIT Sloan Management Review launch a research series on intelligent choice architectures, outlining how enterprises can rethink decision environments for human-AI collaboration
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Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) and MIT Sloan Management Review (MIT SMR) this week announced the launch of a new research series exploring the next phase of human-AI collaboration in enterprises, unveiling what they describe as a roadmap for embedding intelligent choice architectures (ICAs) into business decision-making.
The research, spanning six industries, highlights a fundamental shift in how artificial intelligence is deployed, moving beyond task automation and decision support to shaping the environments in which decisions are made.
Drawing on insights from companies such as Walmart, Meta, Mastercard, Liberty Mutual, BT, Pernod Ricard, and Cummins, the study examines applications of generative and predictive AI across manufacturing, retail, BFSI, life sciences, energy, and communications.
According to the findings, enterprises leading in AI adoption are those intentionally designing decision environments where humans and machines collaborate effectively.
ICAs, as the research defines them, are dynamic AI systems that proactively shape decision contexts by revealing trade-offs, predicting outcomes, and generating novel options for decision-makers.
Michael Schrage, research fellow at MIT Sloan and coauthor of the study, said ICAs “don’t just learn from decisions; they learn to improve the decision environment itself,” marking what he called a revolutionary shift in enterprise intelligence.
Ashok Krish, head of TCS’ AI practice, said ICAs enable more accountable and transparent decisions in complex, multi-factorial scenarios, helping align talent development and organizational goals, echoing the report’s emphasis on trust and governance as critical to scaling AI in strategic contexts.
The research cited real-world examples such as Walmart using ICAs to identify hidden in-store talent and surface better internal leadership candidates; Liberty Mutual integrating ICAs into claims and HR workflows, including its LibertyGPT system, which saved employees more than 200,000 hours by summarizing and surfacing insights; and Cummins applying ICAs to simulate thousands of edge-case powertrain scenarios, improving resilience and cutting design time.
Other examples included Pernod Ricard accelerating campaign testing and personalization, BT’s AI assistant handling 60,000 weekly customer interactions, Mastercard integrating ICAs to improve customer experience and operational efficiency, and life sciences companies shortening drug discovery timelines by up to 30% and cutting costs by up to 40%, all consistent with the report’s findings that ICAs can reveal hidden opportunities and challenge entrenched assumptions.
David Kiron, editorial director at MIT SMR and coauthor of the report, said, “This isn’t just AI as co-pilot. This is AI and humans working together as architects to redesign how choices are structured, surfaced, and evaluated.”
The report stresses that organizations must rethink governance, decision rights, and measurement systems to fully harness the potential of ICAs, including developing what the authors term Decision Rights 2.0, or a set of dynamic protocols defining when humans intervene, when AI escalates, and how authority and accountability flow across human-machine teams.
Sankaranarayanan Viswanathan, vice-president at TCS, underscored that enterprises risk ceding authority to opaque AI systems unless they build architectures that make priorities and trade-offs transparent, reflecting the report’s warning that without intentional design, systems could become de facto policy makers misaligned with strategy.
The collaboration continues TCS’ longstanding partnership with MIT SMR on research into digital inclusion, retail, workforce empowerment, and customer experience.
