Stanford Business Magazine

I recently came across an old article in which a business prof made a provocative suggestion: What if the words in annual reports contained as much useful information as the numbers? He proposed using content analysis — counting words, essentially — to transform text into quantifiable information. Turning the “base metal” of text into the “gold” of data, he wrote, would be akin to “alchemy.”

The transformation imagined in that article, written in 1978, is no longer magic. Researchers now regularly use computational linguistics to find gold in the hills (or mountains, more accurately) of words we generate. In this issue, we look at how GSB faculty are using large language models and other technologies to extract nuggets of insight from everything from earnings calls and corporate emails to court cases and police stops. This is a less hyped yet no less consequential side of our AI-obsessed moment. The tools of artificial communication can do more than just generate words on command; they can help us better understand how people communicate with each other. 

It’s been more than six months since the GSB commemorated its 100th birthday, but the celebration of the school’s history and community isn’t over yet. We’ve put together a scrapbook from the Centennial year. This issue also recognizes the GSB’s legacy as a springboard for entrepreneurs and investors. Recent alums have launched more than 5,000 ventures, many of them inspired by their connection to the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, which turns 30 this year. In our cover story, we highlight the Initiative for Investing and talk with a range of alumni investors about their experiences and impact. 

Throughout those interviews, these accomplished investors mention assets that can’t be tallied in a spreadsheet or an annual report — personal qualities like curiosity and intellectual honesty. AI is a powerful tool for calculating and quantifying. Yet as Lacey Calac Dunne, MS ’23, explains, “at the end of the day, it cannot replace the human intuition necessary to synthesize all the tangible and intangible factors needed for a sound investment.” All that glitters is not gold.

— Dave Gilson