Fern Halper

Fern Halper, PhD, is a nationally recognized industry analyst and expert on data and artificial intelligence whose work helps business and technology leaders understand what it really takes to succeed with data and AI in practice. She brings a rare combination of hands-on practitioner experience, academic teaching, and long-standing industry thought leadership.

Over more than 30 years, Dr. Halper has been published hundreds of times on data mining, analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. She is the co-author of several Wiley-published titles, including Cloud Computing for Dummies (2010), Big Data for Dummies (2013), and Data Makes the World Go ’Round: The Data, Tech, and Trust Behind AI Success (forthcoming, April 2026).

Halper is widely recognized as a leading voice in the data and AI community. As an industry analyst and educator, she regularly engages with executives and practitioners through research, briefings, and educational programs to help them cut through hype, build AI literacy, understand governance and risk, and make informed decisions about enterprise AI adoption.

She holds a BA from Colgate University and a PhD from Texas A&M University. Her career includes serving as a lead analyst at Bell Laboratories and a partner at industry analyst firm Hurwitz & Associates, as well as teaching at both Colgate University and Bentley University. She is currently VP of Research at TDWI and the Founder of the AI Foundations Group.