The real AI adoption blocker: workers who can't or won't use it
TechNews cites Forbes columnist Joe McKendrick's argument that AI adoption succeeds or fails less on technology than on employee acceptance and whether AI actually fits into everyday workflows. A Resume Now survey of 1,000 employed Americans found 42% lacked confidence about integrating AI into their workflows, 44% did not know how to build AI skills, and 60% said their jobs did not require AI or gave unclear expectations. A paper from the CIVIC-AI 2026 workshop held in Singapore in July 2026 adds that most studies measure only automation capability and adoption rates, overlooking verification, exception handling and remediation costs — and the possible deskilling that follows structural job changes; Andy Thurai, founder of The Field CTO and former IBM chief strategist, also criticized token usage as a crude value metric, saying firms should disclose verification and correction costs before publishing productivity numbers.
It pushes companies to count hidden verification and rework costs when judging AI's value, not just token usage or adoption rates.