Bowen Lou

Bowen Lou is an Assistant Professor of Data Sciences and Operations at the Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California. Professor Lou’s research primarily lies in economics of artificial intelligence (AI), innovation and entrepreneurship, and future of work. Broadly, he is extremely passionate about studying emerging technology-enabled phenomena in business and society (including but not limited to topics on AI, big data analytics, digital platform, FinTech, healthcare IT, and social media). He works on the new waves of digitization and technological innovation spanning a wide spectrum of industry sectors, by collaborating with leading analytics companies that track technology, labor and innovation trends. Linking macro patterns to micro activities, his studies leverage a variety of interdisciplinary methodologies (including but not limited to bio/chem-informatics, econometrics, game-theoretical modeling, randomized field experiments, machine learning and network analysis). 

Recently his research projects primarily study economics and strategic implications of AI in the following areas:

1). Innovation development: How AI can improve innovation (e.g. patent, product innovation), or mitigate its slowdown in various settings (e.g., corporate R&D alliances, CEO turnover, disruption in team collaboration)

2). Human decision-making: How AI can address cognitive limitations and biases in human decision-making processes

3). Labor market: How AI can shape contemporary labor markets and the future of work

He is also actively expanding his research into other topics related to emerging technology, innovation and entrepreneurship, including:

4). Investment behavior and strategy in Bitcoin exchange and mining markets

5). Multihoming activities of workers in the gig economy

6). IT-enabled strategy and intervention for business in the area of employer brand management and referral program development. 

Professor Lou’s research work has been published or forthcoming in some premier academic journal and conference such as Management Science, Management Information Systems Quarterly and International Conference on Information Systems. His dissertation research on data analytics, AI and innovation was awarded the INFORMS Information Systems Society (ISS) Nunamaker-Chen Best Dissertation Award (Winner) and ACM SIGMIS Dissertation Award (Runner-up). He is also a recipient of Best IS paper in Management Science (Finalist), Best Paper Award (Finalist) at Workshop on Information Systems and Economics and Conference on Information Systems and Technology, and Best Student Paper Award (Runner-up) at Conference on Health IT and Analytics, as well as a number of honors and grants. He has co-organized the inaugural and second Wharton Innovation Doctoral Symposium (WINDS), the first multi-disciplinary doctoral conference focused on innovation. 

Prior to joining USC Marshall, he was an Assistant Professor of Operations and Information Management at the School of Business, University of Connecticut. He worked in technology and banking corporations including Intel and China Guangfa Bank. He was also a research programmer at Knowledge Lab of Computation Institute in Chicago, digging into an exciting field of computational social science. 

Professor Lou received his Ph.D. in Operations, Information and Decisions (with a specific focus on information strategy & economics), and his M.A. in Statistics from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He also holds a M.S. in Computer Science from University of Chicago, and a B.Eng in Information Security from Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He is a data scientist, technology advisor and public speaker, frequently delivering his studies and innovation strategies related to emerging technologies.

Please contact at bowenlou at marshall dot usc dot edu for academic-industry research collaboration, media inquiry, and speaking engagement.