Bringing Entrepreneurial Ideas to Life Through AI-powered Prototyping

“AI has made it possible to create at a pace and depth that has not been possible before. It has and will continue to enable entrepreneurs and innovators the opportunity to develop new solutions to high-value problems much more rapidly and with less skill-building than ever before. It will change how we view creation.”

AI research interests

• Generative AI for rapid prototyping new products and ideas
• Ethical considerations in AI-driven prototyping
• Human-AI collaboration in prototyping

Jonathan is an educator and leader with nearly two decades of experience dedicated to innovation, technology, and fostering inquisitiveness in students and educators alike. Currently he leads the Weissman Foundry at Babson College, a transformative cross-college initiative and makerspace. The Foundry empowers students to create with purpose, embrace entrepreneurship, and make their ideas a reality. He has expanded the Foundry’s impact exponentially, delivering hands-on training to thousands and nurturing a unique community culture. Prior to this, he served as a Curriculum Developer, Advisor, and Teacher helping schools adopt impactful curricula and fostering collaboration across disciplines.

“The hard part of building with AI is no longer the code. It is being specific about what you want and catching the mistakes the agent makes. That judgment is what I want students to walk away with.”

AI research interests

• Building working products with AI agents
• Getting reliable results from AI agents
• AI and the future of programming education
• AI agents as organizational actors

Zhi Li is an Associate Professor of Practice in the Operations and Information Management division at Babson College. He has taught programming to business students for over a decade and now works on how people build real products by directing AI agents instead of writing everything by hand. He teaches Python for business analytics and web development with AI. Outside the classroom he builds his own AI tools and course infrastructure.

Recent Publications

Hashmi, N., Li, Z., Parise, S. A., & Shankaranarayanan, G. (2025). "LEAP: A Method for Programming Education." AMCIS 2025 Proceedings.

Hashmi, N., Li, Z., Parise, S. A., & Shankaranarayanan, G. (2024). "Generative AI's Impact on Students Learning Programming: Frustration and Confidence across Learning Styles." Issues in Information Systems.

Glover, W. J., Li, Z., & Pachamanova, D. A. (2022). "The AI-Enhanced Future of Health Care Administrative Task Management." NEJM Catalyst Innovations in Care Delivery.