Karthik Babu Nattamai Kannan

I am a Visiting Assistant Professor in the IT and Operations Management Department at 91×ÔÅÄ's Cox School of Business, where I have been on faculty since 2018. My research focuses on information systems, particularly examining how artificial intelligence and digital infrastructure shape organizations and society. I specialize in two main areas: (1) the impact of generative AI on developer productivity, consumer behavior, and business decision-making, and (2) how digital infrastructure improvements affect educational access, economic opportunity, and digital divides.

My research has had significant real-world impact. My work published in Management Science was selected by the FCC to inform national broadband policy—I was invited to formally present and file findings in the official rulemaking on data caps affecting millions of low-income and rural households. I have an active research pipeline with papers at various stages preparing for Management Science and Production and Operations Management, including studies on the hidden costs of AI-generated documentation in software development and optimization frameworks for reducing geographic inequality through public-private infrastructure sharing. My work has been presented at leading conferences including Wharton's Business & Generative AI Conference, INFORMS, POMS, and AMCIS, with upcoming presentations at premier IS conferences including WISE 2025, WITS 2025, and the INFORMS Workshop on Data Science.

On the teaching side, I have been instrumental in developing new GenAI-related courses at SMU Cox, contributing to the school's push towards AI-based curriculum and programs. I am currently developing comprehensive curriculum for —Generative AI in Business  and Agentic AI for Database Development . I have been recognized for teaching excellence with the C. Jackson Grayson Endowed Faculty Innovation Award (2021, awarded annually to one tenure-track faculty member at Cox) and student nomination for the "Honoring Our Professors' Excellence" award (2023). I have also contributed to the broader IS teaching community through invited IT Teaching Innovation Workshops at the University of Delaware (2025) and UT-Austin (2024).

I have served as a Perplexity AI Fellow (March 2025–August 2025) and was previously a Donna Wilhelm Research Fellow at SMU DataArts (2019–2023), where I studied the impact of digitization and AI/ML in the U.S. cultural sector. I have also served as a grant reviewer for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) on the Tribal Broadband Connectivity and Connecting Minority Communities Programs (2021–2022). My research has been supported by grants from the Marketing Science Institute and the National Endowment for the Arts.