Benjamin Manning
Ph.D. Candidate
Benjamin is a Ph.D. student at MIT Sloan in the Information Technology group. He is interested in behavioral economics and how researchers can use generative AI to improve experimental methodology.
Before MIT, Benjamin worked as a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, conducting large-scale randomized controlled trials and studying bias in researcher decision-making. He has a master’s degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Washington University in St. Louis.
Recent Insights
Featured publications
June 12, 2026
- John Horton | Associate Professor, MIT Sloan School of Management
- Benjamin Manning | Ph.D. Candidate
Useful social science theories predict behavior across settings. However, applying a theory to make predictions in new settings is challenging: rarely can it be done without ad hoc modifications to account for setting-specific factors. We argue that AI agents put in simulations of those novel settings offer an alternative for applying theory, requiring minimal or no modifications.
April 12, 2026
- David Holtz | Assistant Professor, Columbia Business School
- Benjamin Manning | Ph.D. Candidate
- Eaman Jahani | Assistant Professor, Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland
- Hong-Yi Tu Ye | PhD Candidate
September 18, 2025
- John Horton | Associate Professor, MIT Sloan School of Management
- Benjamin Manning | Ph.D. Candidate
- Andrey Fradkin | Assistant Professor, Questrom School of Business, Boston University
July 19, 2024
- David Holtz | Assistant Professor, Columbia Business School
- Benjamin Manning | Ph.D. Candidate