How does innovation change when AI systems can generate, evaluate, and refine ideas at scale?
The Open and User Innovation (OUI) Society and the Digital Data Design Institute at Harvard invite submissions to the 23rd Annual OUI Conference, to be held July 27–28, 2026 in Boston.
For over two decades, OUI has been a leading forum for research on user innovation, open communities, and distributed problem solving. This year, we focus on a fundamental shift: the rise of human–AI collectives as a new locus of innovation-with implications for entrepreneurship, organizations, and markets.
We invite research that explores how AI is transforming collaboration, expertise, evaluation, and governance across users, communities, firms, platforms, and entrepreneurial ventures.
Why attend?
- Engage with a cross-disciplinary community spanning innovation, entrepreneurship, strategy, OB, and technology
- Receive feedback on both completed work and early-stage ideas (including 2-minute research pitches)
- Participate in interactive sessions designed to foster collaboration
- Contribute to shaping a research agenda at the frontier of AI and innovation
Keynote speakers include:
Shai Bernstein (Harvard) • Sharique Hasan (Duke) • Natalia Levina (NYU)
Thomas Malone (MIT) • Raffaella Sadun (Harvard) • Christian Terwiesch (Wharton)
Stefan Thomke (Harvard) • Rudina Seseri (Glasswing Ventures) • Mike Grandinetti (Harvard)
Conference focus areas include:
- AI-enabled user innovation and open communities
- Human–AI collaboration in problem solving and creativity
- Crowds, evaluation, and AI-assisted judgment
- Platforms, ecosystems, and digital infrastructure
- Innovation in firms, teams, and entrepreneurial ventures
- Entrepreneurship, commercialization, and scaling
- Policy, governance, and ethics
- AI methods and measurement in innovation research
Submission types:
- Full papers (completed research)
- Research plans (early-stage ideas; 2-minute presentations)
Key dates:
- Submission deadline: May 10, 2026
- Notification: June 10, 2026
Learn more and submit here
We hope you'll join us in advancing research on innovation in the era of human–AI collaboration.
Best regards,
Jackie Lane, on behalf of the OUI 2026 co-organizing team
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Jacqueline Lane
Assistant Professor
Harvard Business School
Boston MA
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