Artificial intelligence in business master's degree helps Nathan Merriman combine business strategy with technology

Nathan Merriman (MS-AIB '25) had been working in business for a few years when he learned about the innovative new Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence in Business at W. P. Carey. After discovering the program, he knew he wanted to be a part of the first cohort.

Nathan Merriman (MS-AIB '25) had been working in business for a few years when he learned about the innovative new Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence in Business (MS-AIB) at ASU's W. P. Carey School of Business, the first program of its kind at a business school in the United States.

After discovering the program, he knew he wanted to be a part of the first cohort. "I felt like it was the North Star in an industry that was not just emerging, but going to disrupt the entire world," he says. "Finding this amalgamation, this perfect intersection of both the technical artificial intelligence, paired with the strategic aspect of business, it was a no-brainer."

Merriman's time in the MS-AIB program helped him learn how to better use AI for business innovations, while keeping in mind ethical concerns, privacy issues, and how to create a positive impact.

Merging business and AI

Merriman comes from a background in business strategy, helping organizations optimize their processes and be as efficient as possible. Because of this, he's always had an interest in how technology impacts business, and, according to him, "artificial intelligence seems to be the pinnacle of that realm."

The program felt like the perfect next step for him because of how the MS-AIB curriculum blends business principles with the technical skills of machine learning and related concepts.

"Typically, you're going to focus on either the strategic component when it comes to business, which is my background, or the technical component, the ones and zeros," says Merriman. "Finding a merger between those two has been a fascinating process. Those components are interwoven in every single class we take."

He explains further, "If we're taking a machine learning class or we're taking a business strategy class, those aren't siloed to those domains. They find ways to interweave these technical and strategic components together in one class setting."

Merriman has found this approach to be especially impactful and important because of the role he sees technologies like AI playing in the future of business.

"It's going to touch every aspect of business as we know it, whether people realize it yet or not," he says. "That is an inevitability, and boardrooms across the world are going to have big questions on how to incorporate this effectively and efficiently."

Learning to be mindful

Gaining the technical skills to implement AI tools in business settings is only one part of the equation. Another part — and one that Merriman considers a passion of his — is learning how to use this technology mindfully, in ways that make positive impacts on the organization and the community as a whole.

"Moral AI is a very hot topic in the world of innovation and how technical innovation is applied to business scenarios, because it affects people's lives," he says. "The hard part about AI is it's largely unauditable. It's known as a black box, and that can pose some very big ethical questions."

One of the core tenets of the MS-AIB program is ensuring students have an understanding of the ethical implications of AI usage, including privacy concerns, potential biases, and consumer trust.

The program creates graduates who will be able to mindfully and responsibly leverage AI to improve businesses. This emphasis is another reason Merriman was drawn to W. P. Carey, and he's found it to be an integral part of the program for him.

"Mindful AI largely means taking what has the potential for disruptions, both good and bad, and ensuring that an ethical component is woven at every layer of that development process," says Merriman. "We don't want to leave big ethical decisions just to private corporations. We want to make sure that we're training people at the base level, in an institutional setting, on how to make moral decisions when it comes to artificial intelligence."

Being a Sun Devil

The MS-AIB program has made a profound impact on Merriman by not just expanding his technical skillset, but changing the way he looks and thinks about situations.

"I got to expand my horizons like I didn't really anticipate going into this," he says. "It has challenged me. It has challenged my biases. It has emboldened my ideas, and it has created a platform for me to rethink how I want to go about business, period."

He also described W. P. Carey and ASU as a "home away from home," thanks to the welcoming and supportive environment created by faculty, staff, and his fellow students. He says that after his graduation, he left ASU "with a family, which is very meaningful to me."

Merriman's advice for those considering a similar path is to embrace everything they encounter. "Buckle up," he says, "because you're going to enjoy your time here."