Ann Arbor Times

The abundance of information in today's world, combined with technological advancements in data processing, can sometimes lead to confusion and misinformation. This is the focus of recent research by Jerry Davis, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. Davis examines how corporations function as social and economic entities and explores their moral and ethical responsibilities in the 21st century.

Davis's insights are featured on the latest episode of the Business & Society podcast, produced by the Ross School of Business and Michigan News. He discusses how open-access publishing has made research more accessible but has also led to an increase in published work due to its business model. The rise of generative AI further complicates this landscape by making it easier to produce articles quickly, challenging the assessment of study quality.

Davis emphasizes that science should foster conversation for continuous improvement rather than being dominated by machines. "If a couple of people and a bot can write 288 presumably publishable papers, we’re just going to be surrounded by a sea of publications," he remarked.

Additionally, Davis points out that companies continue to report financial information based on outdated regulations from the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These reports focus on tangible assets while most modern company value is intangible. As a result, these reports may not accurately reflect today's economy.

“We’re still largely stuck with the kind of information that made sense during the Great Depression,” Davis noted. “We created a set of requirements for companies during the ’30s and early ’40s, and we’re still living with the consequences.”

The podcast episode is co-produced by JT Godfrey from Ross School of Business and Jeff Karoub from Michigan News, with Jonah Brockman as audio engineer and Mads Henke handling editorial production.