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What executives need to know about AI
To truly reap the benefits of artificial intelligence, executives need an understanding of how AI systems operate and what they do well.
Oct 21, 2024
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Eric So
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Eric So is a financial economist and tenured professor in the Global Economics and Management group at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He joined MIT in 2012 after earning a PhD from Stanford University's Graduate School of Business and a Master’s Degree in Economics from Cornell University.
Since joining MIT, So has established himself as a leading researcher and educator in his field, culminating in his current position as Sloan Distinguished Professor of Global Economics and Management. His research portfolio spans interconnected topics including asset pricing and trading, behavioral economics, artificial intelligence (AI), and regulatory policy.
Within MIT, So holds several key leadership positions that showcase his commitment to advancing practical applications of research insights towards business and education. He serves as the Faculty Co-Director for the AI Executive Academy, the Faculty Chair of MIT Sloan's PhD program, and the Lead Faculty for the MIT Sloan Generative AI Hub for Teaching and Learning (Link).
So is recognized as an outstanding educator, having received multiple awards for excellence in teaching and leadership. Additionally, he brings several years of experience advising actively managed funds, bridging the gap between academic theory and industry practice.
So is the coauthor of the book Alphanomics: The Informational Underpinnings of Market Efficiency, and he teaches a finance course based on the book (15.465 Preview). Additionally, he teaches courses on AI for business and education, as well as effective communication skills for academics.
Featured Research
"Flight-to-Earnings: The Role of Earnings in Periods of Capital Scarcity." Guest, Nicholas, M., S.P. Kothari, and Eric C. So. Management Science. Forthcoming.
"Fee the People: Retail Investor Behavior and Trading Commission Fees."Even-Tov, Omri, Kimberlyn George, Shimon Kogan, and Eric C. So, MIT Sloan Working Paper 6801-22. Cambridge, MA: MIT Sloan School of Management, September 2022.
"Financial Reporting and Consumer Behavior."Noh, Suzie, Eric C. So, and Christina Zhu, MIT Sloan Working Paper 6560-21. Cambridge, MA: MIT Sloan School of Management, May 2022.
Areas of Interest
Asset Pricing and Valuation; Behaviorial Finance; Limits to Arbitrage; Market Microstructure; Earnings Announcements
Honors
Publications
Featured Publication
"Uncovering Expected Returns: Information in Analyst Coverage Proxies."Lee, Charles M.C., and Eric So. Journal of Financial Economics Vol. 124, No. 2 (2017): 331-348.
Featured Publication
"Asymmetric Trading Costs Prior to Earnings Announcements: Implications for Price Discovery and Returns."Johnson, Travis, and Eric C. So. Journal of Accounting Research Vol. 56, No. 1 (2018): 217-263.
"Conflicts of Interest in Subscriber-Paid Credit Ratings."
Bonsall, Samuel B., Jacquelyn Gillette, Gabriel Pundrich, and Eric C. So. Journal of Accounting and Economics. Forthcoming. SSRN.
"Odd Lots & Optics: Manipulation in Response to Scrutiny."
Charles Downing, Bradford (Lynch) Levy, Matthew A. Phillips, Eric C. So, MIT Sloan Working Paper 7070-24. Cambridge, MA: MIT Sloan School of Management, July 2024.
"Flight-to-Earnings: The Role of Earnings in Periods of Capital Scarcity."
Guest, Nicholas, M., S.P. Kothari, and Eric C. So. Management Science Vol. 69, No. 8 (2023): 4908-4931. SSRN Preprint.
"Losing is Optional: Retail Option Trading and Expected Announcement Volatility."
de Silva, Tim, Kevin Smith, and Eric C. So, MIT Sloan Working Paper 6944-22. Cambridge, MA: MIT Sloan School of Management, June 2023.
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Media Highlights
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CNBC
MIT Professor Eric So on meme-stock mania
"From a practical perspective it's going to be very hard to rein in some of this retail trading in a meaningful way."
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Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance (Opinion Piece)
Core earnings: New data and evidence
Distinguishing ‘core earnings’ from ancillary business activities or transitory shocks is essential for interpreting and forecasting firm perform
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MarketWatch (Opinion Piece)
Why regulators shouldn't get trigger-happy in trying to rein in GameStop...
"The financial markets have been democratized. Regulators shouldn’t make moves to inadvertently curtail that."
Executive Education
Executive Education Course
AI Executive Academy
An exciting collaboration between MIT's Sloan School of Management and Schwarzman College of Computing, this immersive, two-week program on campus dives deep into both the technical and business aspects of artificial intelligence, providing a comprehensive understanding of AI's impact across industries. The program will bridge the gap between AI technology and business leadership through practical, hands-on learning experiences, ensuring participants can apply AI strategies effectively in their organizations.
- Oct 28-Nov 8, 2024
- Apr 7-18, 2025