Davood Wadi
Studying how large language models behave, and what that means for marketing and business.
Biography
I am a lecturer and researcher in AI and Marketing. I research the behavioral patterns of large language models and their implications for consumer decision-making. I hold a Ph.D. in Marketing with a specialization in AI from HEC Montreal, supported by the IVADO PhD Excellence Scholarship.
My work sits at the overlap of quantitative marketing and machine learning. I study questions like: do LLMs exhibit the same cognitive biases humans do? What happens when AI agents make pricing decisions? I publish in venues like EMNLP and JECR and teach courses on AI applications in business.
Curriculum
Recent courses designed.
Applications of AI in Business
Hands-on course covering LLMs, prompt engineering, deep learning for NLP and computer vision, and how to evaluate AI tools for real business problems. Designed for MBA and graduate students.
View Course WebsiteDigital Transformation
Covers how organizations adopt new technologies, manage the transition, and measure outcomes. Topics include platform business models, data-driven decision-making, and technology adoption frameworks.
View Course WebsiteIntroduction to Marketing
What is Marketing? How do we define a consumer? What strategies firms adopt to influence consumption decisions?
Selected Research
Recent papers and journal articles at the intersection of AI and Marketing.
A Monte-Carlo Sampling Framework For Reliable Evaluation of Large Language Models Using Behavioral Analysis
Findings of the Association for Computational Linguistics. We propose a Monte-Carlo evaluation framework that provides statistical guarantees for LLM performance estimates, replacing single-sample benchmarks. We find that newer, larger LLMs are more susceptible to cognitive biases, suggesting more human-like but less rational responses.
Wadi, D., Fredette, M.
The interplay of altruism and financial incentives: Maximizing online reviews through effective messaging
Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, Volume 27, Issue 2. We study what actually gets people to write online reviews: altruistic messaging, financial incentives, or both. We test different message framings in a field experiment and find that the interplay between the two matters more than either alone.
Wadi, D., Legoux, R., Fredette, M., Senecal, S.
Teaching
Courses and instruction across institutions.
University Canada West
2025 (MBA Program)
- BUSI 654 Application of AI in Business
- CMPT 641 Digital Transformation
- BUSI 653 Cloud Computing Technologies
HEC Montreal
2023
Master's and PhD course
- MATH 60629A Machine Learning I: Large-Scale Data Analysis and Decision Making
GreatLearning
2021 - Present
Developed and taught courses in AI and data science. Managed diverse classroom settings.
Academic Service
Peer review, ethics oversight, and curriculum design.
- Journal of Electronic Commerce Research - E-Commerce (March 2026)
- ICML 2025 - Gradient Descent Optimization
- AISTATS 2025
- NeurIPS 2024 & 2022 - GD, LLMs, Vector Symbolic Architecture
- Master of Financial Technology: Created the "Applications of AI in Finance" curriculum.
- Bachelor of Applied Information Tech: Designed the "Responsible AI" and "Intro to AI" courses.
- Masters of Health Management
Grants & Awards
Funding and recognition for AI-driven research.
UCW Explore Grant
Developed "AILSS: AI-Powered Learning Support System." This project addresses the challenge of providing timely, personalized support to students with disabilities by utilizing Large Language Models for formative assessment.
Google Gemini Academic Program Award
Recognized for excellence and innovation in academic research and applications involving Google's Gemini models.
Let's Connect
If you want to discuss research collaboration, have questions about my courses, or are interested in consulting on AI and marketing topics, feel free to reach out.