Synergizing Artificial Intelligence and Operations Research: Perspectives from INFORMS Fellows on the Next Frontier.

This article examines the evolving relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) and operations research and management science (OR/MS), revisiting Herbert Simon’s 1987 vision of their integration to enhance decision making. Drawing on a 2024 survey of Fellows from the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS), it highlights that while AI and OR/MS have historically diverged, many experts now see them as complementary disciplines with growing practical and theoretical synergies. The survey reveals opportunities in combining AI’s flexible, data-driven methods with OR/MS’s rigorous, optimization-based approaches, alongside challenges related to funding, education, and institutional structures. The article underscores the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, thoughtful integration, and maintaining OR/MS’s core identity to realize Simon’s vision amid the current AI boom and its societal implications.