At HighESt Lab, we understand, interrogate, and improve the models underlying Artificial Intelligence. Social and theoretical research is essential for developing more effective, transparent systems capable of tackling complex problems in original ways. We experiment with new architectures, training techniques, and human-machine interaction methods that foster not only efficiency, but also creativity and the ability to ask relevant questions.

For this reason, the lab collaborates directly with companies and university students to provide multiple perspectives on the challenges ahead. Below are our ongoing projects.

Clinical Trials in Companies

Our approach, developed from studies conducted in collaboration with Harvard Business School – The Digital, Data, and Design (D³) Institute, views artificial intelligence as a true medicine entering the economy, organizations, and everyday life.

AI is an extremely powerful and promising technology, yet still not fully understood. We do not yet know the optimal dosage, its real effectiveness, its potential side effects, nor the conditions required for a safe, sustainable, and high-impact adoption.

For this reason, we conduct organisational “clinical trials” and longitudinal studies within companies, observing how organizations operate with AI systems under controlled and differentiated conditions (such as different team configurations, roles, skills, and levels of AI integration). This approach allows us to systematically assess the impact of AI on key variables, including innovation capacity, skills development, productivity, and work experience.

A new way to observe AI in organizations. To understand which new organisational configurations companies need to develop, which new skills must be acquired, what the future “AI-augmented employee” will look like, and which governance mechanisms and safeguards are required, it is essential to observe, monitor, and analyze the first real-world uses of AI inside organizations.