{
  "id": 4948484,
  "title": "Aspiring entrepreneurs are raving about this $699 Harvard course taught by AI clones",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/01/aspiring-entrepreneurs-are-raving-about-this-699-harvard-course",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-09-01T21:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Fast Company",
    "slug": "fast-company",
    "url": "https://www.fastcompany.com/91600044/harvard-course-taught-by-ai-avatars-instructors-clones-entrepreneurs-rave-reviews"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Establishing artificially intelligent replicas of actual individuals is generally considered unsettling. Clones of actors, such as Val Kilmer's AI-generated portrayal in As Deep as the Grave, have been met with disapproval. Similar debates surround AI imitations of pastors and tech leaders. However, one use case for AI cloning is proving profitable, especially among its targeted demographic. Harvard Business School has incorporated cloned versions of its professors into a new boot camp for budding entrepreneurs, making their expertise (or at least an imitation of it) accessible to students outside its campus boundaries.\n\nFoundry is Harvard Business School's AI-powered online boot camp. In addition to weekly live sessions spanning eight weeks, Foundry provides AI resources to guide budding founders through every stage of launching a business, including ideation and investor pitches. The program's AI arsenal encompasses AI-generated stand-ins for several Harvard faculty members who consented to the cloning process. One such faculty member, senior lecturer Jeff Bussgang, admitted to The New York Times that he finds the simulation \"creepy,\" though his \"students love it.\"\n\nInitially conceived as a text-based system akin to ChatGPT, Foundry's AI was later enhanced based on user feedback. Incorporating a photo of a professor into an AI chatbot significantly boosted engagement. The current iteration of Foundry was launched in April, with most aspiring founders gaining access through university programs, including 760 participants in its summer sessions. However, the boot camp is also open for individual purchase at a cost of $699.\n\nEarly feedback from Foundry users indicates a positive response from both learners seeking to become successful entrepreneurs and educators providing a novel teaching tool. PhD candidates at Boston University have praised the AI agents' advice and constant availability, stating they would like to have the platform available 24/7, even if it's a simulated representation. A biotech founder in residence at the University of Massachusetts highlighted the value of its simulated board and pitch meetings, emphasizing its usefulness in practice runs before actual board meetings. Faculty at institutions outside Harvard have also adopted Foundry in their courses, appreciating its 24/7 availability as a means to scale their guidance capabilities.",
  "summary": "Creating artificially intelligent dupes of real people is . . . off-putting, to say the least. AI stand-ins for actors, like Val Kilmer’s posthumous AI-powered performance in the film As Deep as the Grave , have largely been deemed to be in poor taste. AI clones of pastors and tech executives are similarly divisive. But one application for AI cloning is finding success, at least with its intended…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "VnExpress International",
        "title": "Harvard clones 7 of its professors with AI doppelgangers, sells access to them for $699",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/30/harvard-clones-7-of-its-professors-with-ai-doppelgangers-sells-access",
        "published": "2026-08-30T03:03:28.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}