Four Observations as a Teacher of AI in Project Management

After teaching AI in project management both in the classroom and at conferences, I noticed a few consistent patterns.

1) The first is a lack of awareness about how AI works, what it can do, and how it influences decisions. Overall awareness of AI in general is growing rapidly, including in project management, but awareness doesn’t necessarily equate to understanding. The knowledge deficiency can be addressed by education or formal training and requires a willingness to read, explore, and engage with AI concepts before being directed to use them.

2) The second pattern is the belief that AI is a turnkey solution. In reality, applying AI is a long-term and ongoing process. Implementation requires people to understand the data, choose an appropriate method, and, most importantly, interpret results before making a decision. What I increasingly see is project software algorithms presenting optimized outputs, and project managers accepting them without question. When optimization is treated as an answer rather than an input to decision-making, human judgment quietly disappears.

3) Another clear divide is generational. Many experienced project managers are slowly and cautiously adapting to AI and large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT. Meanwhile, nearly all my students already use them daily. This isn’t a criticism of either group, but an observation of a real gap in comfort, fluency, and expectations. The gap matters because AI is quickly becoming part of the project professional baseline.

4) The final pattern is the most encouraging. Once people are exposed to AI through a course or a conference session, excitement replaces anxiety. Participants are no longer discouraged. Instead, they feel empowered and leave the sessions with a sense that they’re better prepared for the future of project management.

Teaching AI hasn’t convinced me that technology will solve our problems. It has, however, convinced me that education is a powerful force that can help people navigate the significant change that AI is bringing.