Leaders believe that rolling out AI is a productivity bonus, but employees experience this more like dead weight. Surveys by the Harvard Business Review, and BCG/Columbia show that senior executives believe roughly three-quarters of employees are enthusiastic about AI. In reality, only about a third of respondents feel that way. For CIOs in mid-to-large enterprises, this isn’t a vibes problem; it’s a material execution risk. AI ROI is increasingly constrained not by models or infrastructure, but by a basic misread of how ready, and how trusting, your workforce really is.
The Trajectory
AI at work has gone from “innovation lab toy” to default assumption. Microsoft’s Work Trend Index reports that ~75% of knowledge workers are already using generative AI, often bringing their own tools when the company doesn’t provide them. Meanwhile, big consulting houses and vendors push hard on AI …