Behrend student team launches artificial intelligence consulting company

ERIE, Pa. — It can be rare to find the right business partner — someone who shares your vision, complements your skills and matches your ambition. Cadence Rand and Andrew Jack Bond formed that kind of connection while conducting undergraduate research at the Economic Research Institute of Erie (ERIE), an outreach center at Penn State Behrend’s Black School of Business.

At ERIE, Rand, a senior majoring in finance and business economics, and Bond, a 2024 graduate who earned degrees in business economics and computer science — and who added an MBA in May — explored how artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the workforce.

As they analyzed the research data, they realized they had discovered something else: a partnership worth building on.

This summer, they launched Bond-Rand Technologies, a consulting firm that helps organizations integrate AI in ways that protect workers. The business conducts on-site analysis of a company’s operations to identify where AI can boost efficiency with minimal disruption to the workforce.

“We can implement the AI for you and also protect the workforce,” Bond said.

The company already has its first client — a bank — and is helping that business deploy AI tools while identifying retraining opportunities for employees who are at risk of displacement.

The work builds on an AI engine that Rand and Bond developed at ERIE, where they sought to analyze AI’s impact on the American workforce.

What they saw was sobering: In an analysis of 400 cities, Erie ranked 200th in preparedness for AI-driven labor changes. More than 60% of the region’s workers are at risk of being displaced, Bond said.

But the data also revealed opportunity, Bond said: The health care, education and technical fields show both growth potential and a path forward for displaced workers.

The findings brought the pair international attention. Bond and Rand were invited to present their research in Dubai at the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence Summer Symposium. They also presented at Notre Dame, at the Responsible, Inclusive, Safe and Ethical AI Conference.

‘A strong case for retraining staff’

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has described the AI wave as a “white collar bloodbath.” Bond and Rand have an answer for that, they said.

“It’s the soft skills that really differentiate us,” Rand said. “Good soft skills — public speaking, general communication — many people underestimate how important those are.”

Technical know-how also is essential, she said.

“It’s critical that everyone have some technical skills, no matter what industry they are in,” Rand said.

As she and Bond analyzed data from different markets, she said, they noticed a recurring theme at the organizational level of businesses: AI works best when it is adopted and incorporated in an intentional and strategic way.

“When you look at the stock market, companies say they are laying people off because of AI, and people get excited about it,” Bond said. But if we deploy AI rapidly and everyone is laid off, that will hurt the economy and, eventually, the company’s customers.

“For a lot of small businesses, there is a strong case for retraining and redeploying staff,” he said.

Rand agreed.

“AI is meant to be an assistant, not a replacement,” Rand said.

Bond and Rand come from entrepreneurial families, and each said they had planned to start businesses in the future. Neither expected the opportunity to come while they were still enrolled at Penn State Behrend, however.

“Andrew and Cadence are outstanding scholars working on cutting-edge economic research,” said Ken Louie, director of ERIE and an associate professor of economics at the Black School of Business. “Their decision to harness their applied research skills to help businesses and workers adopt to the rapid changes in AI is an excellent example of the enormous societal impact of Penn State Behrend and the Economic Research Institute of Erie.”