Joseph Benjamin R. Ilagan

Assistant Professor, John Gokongwei School of Management, Ateneo de Manila University Director, Ateneo Business Insights Laboratory for Development (BUILD) Program Director, BS Information Technology Entrepreneurship

jbilagan@ateneo.edu Google Scholar ORCID LinkedIn

I build and evaluate AI systems for learning and for small businesses, using design-based research. Current work covers conversational tutoring and learning simulations for entrepreneurship and management education, AI-assisted workflows in research and administration, data tools for micro and small enterprises, and digital public infrastructure for identity verification. I joined Ateneo full-time in 2019 after more than 26 years in industry and completed a PhD in Computer Science in 2026.

Publications

Newest first. Free author copies are linked as PDFs where the publisher allows it. Open-access versions are marked.

2026

  1. Draft Only, Never Send: Hardening AI-Assisted Workflows in a University Research Lab

    Joseph Benjamin Ilagan, Gabrielle Anne Uy, Jose Ramon Ilagan

    IEEE Software.

    Accepted manuscript PDF Publisher

  2. AI-Driven Adaptive Simulations for Management Education: Student Perceptions from Classroom Deployments in Philippine Higher Education

    Gabrielle Anne Uy, Joseph Benjamin Ilagan, Jose Ramon Ilagan, Francine De Asis

    In HCI International 2026 Posters, CCIS, pp. 153–162. Springer.

    Accepted manuscript PDF Publisher

  3. Teachers as Vibe-Coders: Authoring Adaptive Learning Simulators Through Natural Language

    Gabrielle Anne Uy, Joseph Benjamin Ilagan, Jose Ramon Ilagan, Francine De Asis

    In Adaptive Instructional Systems (HCII 2026), LNCS, pp. 558–568. Springer.

    Accepted manuscript PDF Publisher

  4. AI-Powered Enterprise System for CRM and Inventory Management in Low-Digital MSMEs

    Zachary Matthew Alabastro, Beatrice Anne Lui, Joseph Benjamin Ilagan, Jose Ramon Ilagan, Gabrielle Anne Uy

    In HCI in Business, Government and Organizations (HCII 2026), LNCS, pp. 3–21. Springer.

    Accepted manuscript PDF Publisher

  5. Design-Based Refinement of an LLM-Powered Conversational Learning Simulation for Customer Validation in Entrepreneurship Education

    Joseph Benjamin Ilagan, Jose Ramon Ilagan, Lois Abigail To, Gabrielle Anne Uy, Maria Mercedes T. Rodrigo

    SSRN preprint.

    Free preprint (SSRN)

  6. An LLM-Assisted Multi-Mode Web Scraping and Information Extraction Pipeline for Heterogeneous Public Web Data

    Joseph Benjamin Ilagan, Jose Ramon Ilagan

    SSRN preprint.

    Free preprint (SSRN)

  7. From Prompt to Pipeline: Why and How AI-Assisted Workflows Harden into Deterministic Systems

    Joseph Benjamin Ilagan, Gabrielle Anne Uy, Jose Ramon Ilagan

    SSRN preprint.

    Free preprint (SSRN)

  8. Large Language Models and Jobs-to-be-Done Framework in Customer Validation for Product Managers

    Zachary Matthew Alabastro, Joseph Benjamin Ilagan

    In Proceedings of the 11th International Congress on Information and Communication Technology (ICICT 2026), LNNS, pp. 492–502. Springer.

    Publisher

  9. A Constraint-Driven Conversational Architecture for Staged Task Interaction Using Large Language Models

    Joseph Benjamin Ilagan, Jose Ramon Ilagan

    International Journal of Advanced Computer Science and Applications 17(2).

    Open access (IJACSA)

2025

  1. Reclaiming Human Learning in the Age of Generative AI: Reflections from Technology Entrepreneurship and Higher Education in the Philippines

    Joseph Benjamin Ilagan

    SSRN preprint.

    Free preprint (SSRN)

  2. Applied Optical Character Recognition and Large Language Models in Augmenting Manual Business Processes for Data Analytics in Traditional Small Businesses with Minimal Digital Adoption

    Zachary Matthew Alabastro, Joseph Benjamin Ilagan, Lois Abigail To, Jose Ramon Ilagan

    In Artificial Intelligence in HCI (HCII 2025), LNCS, pp. 267–276. Springer.

    Accepted manuscript PDF Publisher

  3. A Virtual Support Agent for University Students Powered by a Large Language Model: Conversational User Experience Design Considerations

    Joseph Benjamin Ilagan, Wolverix Skyler Yu, Samantha Mae See, Stephanie Rayco

    In Artificial Intelligence in HCI (HCII 2025), LNCS, pp. 253–262. Springer.

    Accepted manuscript PDF Publisher

  4. Augmenting Student Startups’ Customer Validation Efforts Through Adaptive Coaching Using Large Language Models

    Lois Abigail To, Zachary Matthew Alabastro, Joseph Benjamin Ilagan, Jose Ramon Ilagan

    In HCI in Business, Government and Organizations (HCII 2025), LNCS, pp. 209–220. Springer.

    Accepted manuscript PDF Publisher

  5. An Adaptive Simulated Startup Financial Modeling Mentor Using a Large Language Model to Address Shortages in Skilled Advisors: Architecture and Design Considerations

    Joseph Benjamin Ilagan, Jose Ramon Ilagan, Lois Abigail To, Zachary Matthew Alabastro

    In Adaptive Instructional Systems (HCII 2025), LNCS, pp. 56–66. Springer.

    Accepted manuscript PDF Publisher

  6. Evaluation of a Customer Development Simulator Using Large Language Model-Based Multi-agent System and Synthetic Respondents

    Lois Abigail To, Zachary Matthew Alabastro, Joseph Benjamin Ilagan

    In Proceedings of the Tenth International Congress on Information and Communication Technology (ICICT 2025), LNNS 1441, pp. 261–270. Springer.

    Preprint PDF Publisher

  7. Collaborative Product Innovation Model with Large Language Models and Agentic Systems

    Zachary Matthew Alabastro, Stephen Daeniel Mansueto, Joseph Benjamin Ilagan

    In Proceedings of the Tenth International Congress on Information and Communication Technology (ICICT 2025), LNNS 1441, pp. 271–281. Springer.

    Preprint PDF Publisher

  8. Exploratory Customer Discovery on Veblen Goods Using ChatGPT and Agent-Based Modeling System for Business Simulation

    Zachary Matthew Alabastro, Reuel Matthew Cordova, Joseph Benjamin Ilagan, Jose Ramon Ilagan

    Procedia Computer Science 256, pp. 28–35.

    Open access (Procedia)

2024

  1. Optimizing Conversational Commerce Involving Multilingual Consumers Through Large Language Models’ Natural Language Understanding Abilities

    Joseph Benjamin Ilagan, Jose Ramon Ilagan, Pia Ysabel Zulueta, Maria Mercedes T. Rodrigo

    In Artificial Intelligence in HCI (HCII 2024), LNCS, pp. 47–59. Springer.

    Accepted manuscript PDF Publisher

  2. Ethical Education Data Mining Framework for Analyzing and Evaluating Large Language Model-Based Conversational Intelligent Tutoring Systems for Management and Entrepreneurship Courses

    Joseph Benjamin Ilagan, Jose Ramon Ilagan, Maria Mercedes T. Rodrigo

    In Proceedings of the Ninth International Congress on Information and Communication Technology (ICICT 2024), LNNS, pp. 61–71. Springer.

    Open access (Springer)

  3. Exploratory Customer Discovery Through Simulation Using ChatGPT and Prompt Engineering

    Joseph Benjamin Ilagan, Zachary Matthew Alabastro, Claire Louisse Basallo, Jose Ramon Ilagan

    In Proceedings of the Ninth International Congress on Information and Communication Technology (ICICT 2024), LNNS, pp. 51–60. Springer.

    Open access (Springer)

  4. A Prototype of a Conversational Virtual University Support Agent Powered by a Large Language Model That Addresses Inquiries About Policies in the Student Handbook

    Joseph Benjamin Ilagan, Jose Ramon Ilagan

    Procedia Computer Science 239, pp. 1124–1131.

    Open access (Procedia)

  5. Graph-Partitioning Entity Resolution for Resolving Noisy Product Names in OCR Scans of Retail Receipts

    Jose Ramon Ilagan, Joseph Benjamin Ilagan

    Procedia Computer Science 239, pp. 338–345.

    Open access (Procedia)

  6. Exploratory Prompting of Large Language Models to Act as Co-Pilots for Augmenting Business Process Work in Document Classification

    Jose Ramon Ilagan, Joseph Benjamin Ilagan, Claire Louisse Basallo, Zachary Matthew Alabastro

    Procedia Computer Science 237, pp. 420–425.

    Open access (Procedia)

2023

  1. An Agent-Based Modeling and Simulation Tool as a Learning Aid for Diffusion of Innovations

    Joseph Benjamin Ilagan, Jose Ramon Ilagan, Maria Mercedes T. Rodrigo

    In Proceedings of the 31st International Conference on Computers in Education (ICCE 2023). APSCE.

    Free PDF (APSCE)

  2. The Design and Use of Conversational Intelligent Tutoring Systems and Computer Simulation for the Use of Students of Technology Entrepreneurship

    Joseph Benjamin Ilagan

    In Proceedings of the 31st International Conference on Computers in Education (ICCE 2023). APSCE.

    Free PDF (APSCE)

  3. Teaching Diffusion of Innovations Involving Technology Startups Using Agent-Based Simulation Modeling: Architecture and Design Considerations

    Joseph Benjamin Ilagan, Jose Ramon Ilagan

    In Adaptive Instructional Systems (HCII 2023), LNCS, pp. 298–311. Springer.

    Accepted manuscript PDF Publisher

  4. A Prototype of a Chatbot for Evaluating and Refining Student Startup Ideas Using a Large Language Model

    Joseph Benjamin Ilagan, Jose Ramon Ilagan

    EdArXiv preprint.

    Free preprint (EdArXiv)

2022

  1. The Design and Use of Agent-Based Modeling Computer Simulation for Teaching Technology Entrepreneurship

    Joseph Benjamin Ilagan

    In Proceedings of the 30th International Conference on Computers in Education (ICCE 2022), pp. 719–723. APSCE.

    Free PDF (APSCE)

  2. Supporting Mastery Learning Through a Multiple-Submission Policy for Assignments in a Purely Online Programming Class

    Joseph Benjamin Ilagan, Marianne Kayle Amurao, Jose Ramon Ilagan

    In IAFOR International Conference on Education – Hawaii 2022, Official Conference Proceedings, pp. 233–244.

    Publisher

2021

  1. Facilitating Collaborative Learning Among Businesses, Faculty, and Students in a Purely Online Setting

    Joseph Benjamin Ilagan, M. L. Uy, V. N. Kho, Joselito C. Olpoc

    In Proceedings of the 29th International Conference on Computers in Education (ICCE 2021). APSCE.

    Free PDF (Archium Ateneo)

  2. Designing a Multiple Submission Policy Supporting Mastery Learning for a Design Thinking Class in a Purely Online Learning Environment

    Marianne Kayle Amurao, Joseph Benjamin Ilagan

    In The Asian Conference on Education 2021, Official Conference Proceedings, pp. 273–284.

    Publisher

2020

  1. Overcoming Transactional Distance When Conducting Online Classes on Programming for Business Students: A COVID-19 Experience

    Joseph Benjamin Ilagan

    In Proceedings of the 28th International Conference on Computers in Education (ICCE 2020). APSCE.

    Free PDF (APSCE)