Malcolm Stephen uses AI every day as a logistics engineer at J.B. Hunt Transport Services. But because of the environmental impact of data centers, he limits his personal use of it.
“I don’t go on chat AIs to ask simple questions,” he said.
At work, Stephen leverages AI to clean and analyze data, and create more efficient workflows.
“I think of it as an assistant for work that is repetitive or time-consuming, and might not require a lot of analytical thinking,” he said.
Stephen earned an MBA with a concentration in business analytics and a Graduate Certificate in Generative AI and Machine Learning for Business* from Robinson in 2023. Through the program, he developed a framework for utilizing AI as a tool. For example, he’s not a trained coder—but the technology has allowed him to write code.
“AI opens a world of possibilities,” he said. “Someone without extensive coding knowledge could use it to create an app that accomplishes something we haven’t seen before because they used AI to get there.”
Growing up on the island of Saint Croix, Stephen remained well-rounded by playing sports and music, and excelling at science and math. He strategically chose a mainland university and major that offered significant grant and scholarship support, ultimately reducing the financial burden as much as possible for his family. He finished his B.S. in industrial engineering from North Carolina State University in 2015.
After college, Stephen spent a few years with Ecolab, a global water, hygiene, and infection prevention solutions provider. He held various logistics-related roles within the company based in different cities like Houston and Martinsburg, West Virginia. He tried to transfer to Georgia, where several family members had relocated over the years, but that didn’t pan out. So he resigned and moved to Georgia anyway.
Stephen had always planned to pursue an MBA at some point, and the change of scenery prompted him to explore schools. J.B. Hunt hired him in early 2020, and he enrolled in Robinson’s MBA program in fall 2021.
The summer before classes started, he received emails inviting him to information sessions for graduate certificates that would complement his MBA. He registered for the one on AI.
“At that time, people weren’t talking a lot about AI, but I knew I wanted to do some sort of analytics,” he said. “I wanted more than an MBA and figured it would help me market myself.”
The AI certificate helped Stephen learn to think expansively, not just about AI, but about any new technology. He also feels positioned to be nimble in an ever-changing job landscape.
“I'm prepared for whatever is to come,” he said. “I can pivot and adapt when needed because of the background and foundation I have.”
*During Stephen's enrollment, the program was called the Graduate Certificate in Artificial Intelligence Business Innovation.