RIA, a humanoid robot, challenged students at Golisano Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship to handle objections from an on-the-fence customer. The pilot simulation served as an interactive sounding board for the class and gave a second-year student the opportunity to dive into advanced artificial intelligence (AI).
In October, first-year students in Introduction to Sales at Golisano Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship were challenged to reassure a hesitant mother that Golisano Institute is the right next step for her daughter, a recent high-school grad. The parent was a hard sell; she raised concerns about the new business school’s curriculum, job prospects, tuition, and more.
By the end, she didn’t seem wholly convinced.
But that’s OK—it was all just practice. “She” was a humanoid robot named RIA powered by artificial intelligence (AI).
RIA, the humanoid robot that was used in Introduction to Sales to simulate a sales interaction.
“Sales is all about showing up for customers,” says Marvin Deitz, lead sales faculty at Golisano Institute. “I create many opportunities for students to practice sales techniques that are covered in class in real time through simulation, roleplaying, or business projects.”
Marvin Deitz, lead sales faculty at Golisano Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship, led the simulation during his class, Introduction to Sales.
Deitz teaches the introductory sales course, which all students in the two-year business and entrepreneurship program take in Quarter 4. The class focuses on leading effective sales systems. Students learn buyer engagement and strategic relationship-building, among other competencies.
“The students could apply any of six objection techniques to overcome RIA’s objections,” Deitz said about the sales simulation. “After a few minutes of conversation, the students were rated by RIA on how well they did. They received a rating of ‘weak,’ ‘borderline,’ or ‘strong.’”
Learning through simulation
The idea for putting a humanoid robot in Deitz’s classroom was suggested by Graham Anthony, assistant vice president for education technologies and innovation at the institute. The two were exploring ways to leverage AI as an interactive learning tool.
Graham Anthony, assistant vice president for education technologies & innovation, monitors the use of RIA, a humanoid robot, while a student takes part in a sales simulation.
“In a business education setting, there’s a lot of social skills that need to be developed,” Anthony said. “I think RIA offers that opportunity for our students in a way that would feel flat if you did it over Zoom.”
RIA is manufactured by India-based firm Machani Robotics and is designed to open new pathways for using AI in the health, education, and care services. Anthony and his team in the AI Innovation Hub have been researching the best strategies for integrating RIA into the student experience at Golisano Institute since the robot arrived at the Rochester campus center in June.
“You can [practice] over and over again and she won’t get mad.”
— Graham Anthony, Assistant VP for Education Technologies & Innovation , Golisano Institute
“She doesn’t get tired. You can [practice] over and over again and she won’t get mad,” Anthony added.
Rose Cooper (business & entrepreneurship) is one of the students whose sales approach was assessed by RIA during the class.
Rose Cooper (business & entrepreneurship) took part in the classroom simulation.
“Interacting with RIA was definitely very unique as opposed to interacting with a fellow classmate or student,” Cooper said about taking part in the simulation. “And I wasn’t worried about being judged, which can be something that really hinders a lot of people’s ability to progress and learn.”
“I wasn’t worried about being judged.”
— Rose Cooper, Business & Entrepreneurship, Golisano Institute
Each student RIA assessed was unique to his or her performance.
“It felt like she was really listening to you and taking in you what you said,” Cooper explained. “RIA would reference specific things that we had said.”
Learning from simulation
Two years ago as a high-school graduate, Ellah Jeffries (business & entrepreneurship) did not anticipate that she would be authoring an AI-powered simulation with a humanoid robot. But when Anthony and Deitz suggested the project to her as a student worker in the AI Innovation Hub, she was all in.
“This school really helped me dive into AI.”
— Ellah Jeffries, Business & Entrepreneurship, Golisano Institute
Ellah Jeffries (business & entrepreneurship) authored the classroom simulation using a humanoid robot powered by a large language model.
With Anthony’s guidance, Jeffries developed the simulation on RIA by training the large language model that powers the robot to the assessment criteria of the exercise. She says having already taken the course in her first year helped her understand what the simulation had to achieve as she wrote and tweaked a series of sophisticated prompts.
The exposure to AI she has gained so far is unparalleled, according to Jeffries.
“Here, the first day they start talking about AI and I was like, ‘What even is this?’ This school really helped me dive into AI and the future of AI,” she said. “My view of AI is how powerful it really can be and how great it’s going to be for business students like at this institute.”
Anthony and Jeffries prepare RIA for the in-class simulation.
For Jeffries, the results of the project have opened new possibilities for her.
“I’m dreaming of futures that I didn’t think would be possible. And then coming to work with an AI robot? That’s just crazy,” the 19-year-old said. “How many students can put that on their resume?”
