AI is moving from advice to action, and much of that action runs on operations research. I hear it from INFORMS members: our profession is doing heavy lifting, but too few know it. That has to change.
In the 2025 INFORMS Fellows survey, 88% of Fellows who responded agreed OR is fundamental to enhancing AI algorithms. Yet outside our community, that recognition often doesn't follow. Without it, students don't come, funding shifts, and our impact diminishes. This cuts across publications, education, funding, and policy.
This is where I want to focus today: recognition, and how OR and AI integrate.
INFORMS is already at work on this. Over the last five years, INFORMS has:
- Hosted three research collaboration workshops with ACM's Special Interest Group on Artificial Intelligence and the Computing Community Consortium
- Launched the first AI School for Computer Science and Operations Research Education (AI-SCORE) in 2024
- Signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI), including joint programs in 2025 and 2026
- Established an AI committee exploring further collaborations with SIAM, AMS, and IMS (peer societies in mathematics and statistics)
This work by leaders across our community has had a recurring finding: OR and AI differ in vocabulary and culture. AI publishes at conferences with fast turnaround; OR publishes in peer-reviewed journals. Such patterns shape hiring, funding, and recognition.
Both fields need each other. As Ramayya Krishnan puts it, 'AI without OR lacks rigor; OR without AI lacks reach.' Understanding starts with language. Operations researchers need to become multilingual, fluent in AI and computer science while staying grounded in our own discipline.
I helped organize an early conference in 2000 on integrating AI and OR. Our work back then required us to become multilingual. What was niche then is defining now.
As President-Elect, I would amplify and accelerate what is underway. I would:
- Back INFORMS' AI integration work
- Deepen ties with our peer societies
- Invest in our community becoming multilingual
I want to hear from you:
- What is your experience with recognition, or its absence, for OR in the AI era?
- How do we become multilingual, fluent in AI and computer science, while staying grounded in OR?
Your answers continue to shape what I would bring to this role. Please reach out via LinkedIn or at stefan.e.karisch@gmail.com.
Voting opened today and closes Wednesday, September 30. My full candidacy statement, covering stewardship of decision-making science, a bigger tent, and the next generation, is here: https://pubsonline.informs.org/do/10.1287/orms.2026.02.14/full/
I ask for your consideration.
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Stefan Karisch
Founder & Principal
Intrinsic Clarity
Seattle WA
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