AI is Everywhere. So Why Are So Many Businesses Still Stuck?

Artificial intelligence is now firmly in the mainstream, but adoption still looks uneven once you get past the surface. Deloitte reported on 31 March 2026 that 86% of family businesses are already using AI either actively or selectively, yet 48% also said they are only moderately or insufficiently invested in the operational technology needed to support them now and in the future. That gap says a lot about where businesses are right now: interested, active, but not always ready.

The same tension runs through wider AI strategy. McKinsey’s 2026 AI Trust Maturity Survey found that only about one-third of organizations report maturity levels of three or higher in strategy, governance and agentic AI governance, even as AI adoption continues to accelerate. In other words, plenty of businesses are moving ahead, but far fewer have the structure, oversight and confidence to scale it well.

That is where Erica Farmer’s work has become especially relevant. Erica is the co-founder of Quantum Rise Talent Group, a LinkedIn Learning Instructor and an advisory board member of the AI in Work and Skills Forum. Through that work, she has built a strong reputation as an AI expert who helps organizations make sense of change, build confidence around adoption and focus on the human side of transformation.

In this exclusive interview with the AI Speakers Agency, Erica Farmer shares her thoughts on the misconceptions holding leaders back, the skills that will matter most in an AI-shaped workplace, and why successful implementation starts with people before tools.

Q: What misunderstanding about AI is still stopping too many business leaders from moving forward?

Erica Farmer: “I think it's about what does AI actually mean and what does it not mean. There's an AI fear. Whether that's because, if you're a geek like me, in the 80s you grew up with the Terminator movies or the Matrix franchise, or even the negative narrative that we see in the media, on the news, on the socials. People kind of suck that up and don't even realize that it's affecting their judgment on things.

“It's about really understanding how can we utilize this technology, but also how can we enable people to be their best selves by doing that. Do I use it in my personal life? Do I use it in my professional life? What's the benefits do I get from it? And what does that mean in terms of how I feel about myself and my role?

“We're missing a trick if we don't go down the human route when it comes to AI and we just go down the tools and technology route. And that's what a lot of organizations seem to be doing. Oh, we've just rolled out Microsoft Copilot. And then they expect everybody to be using Microsoft Copilot in 90 days. Funnily enough, that doesn't happen because we haven't done the hearts and minds thing. We haven't done the safety thing, the guard rails. How do people feel? Why do they feel that way?

“So, if you're rolling out artificial intelligence, or any kind of change initiative or tools in your organization, you've got to start with the people first. And where I see the gaps in the organizations is they haven't started people first.”

Q: As AI reshapes the workplace, which skills do business leaders need to build now to stay effective?

Erica Farmer: “Everybody's talking about artificial intelligence, and you do have a set of skills that come around that in regard to prompting, for example, and quality checking. But actually, the human distinctive skills that you need to collaborate with AI in the right way are things like critical thinking skills.

“How can you stop and say why are we doing this and is it the right thing to do, for example, rather than just go away on the automation train? Learning agility, things are changing so quickly in organizations.

“How do I put down what I've always done in my job, whether that's mindset, skill set, tasks, and how do I learn to do something slightly different but apply that skill in record time so my organization can pivot and move in ways to maintain its competitive edge rather than trying to move a tanker that takes a long time to do it?

“Organizations will rely on their people to be able to pick up new workflows, new products, new services, new languages, whatever it might be. And we've got to be okay with that unlearning and that relearning. So, for me, critical thinking is number one. Learning agility is number two.”

Q: When leaders begin thinking seriously about AI adoption, where should they actually start?

Erica Farmer: “Not with the AI.

“The number of clients and prospects that come to me and they're like, "What tool should we be using?" Like, "We're doing a tool first strategy, a tech first strategy." And I'm like, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. A, that stuff's going to look different tomorrow anyway because it's changing so quickly. If you don't engage people's hearts and minds, if you don't do the people first thing, you're never going to get anywhere. You're just going to fall over."

“So, give people the time and space to think about what does it mean for me? What does it mean for my job? Am I worried about losing my job? Am I worried about implementing new technology into my role? Or is it time just to leave my role and retire, for example? And that's totally fine as well. Hearts and minds, you've got to go people first. Give them the time, the head space, the confidence as well as the skills and the competence through AI literacy and training and things like that.

“But don't just go straight into right, you've got access to ChatGPT now, off you go, because people are never going to feel comfortable and psychologically safe to adopt the technology to be the real unlock of transformation that you're looking for.”

Q: When people leave one of your talks, what do you want them to do differently?

Erica Farmer: “I want them to be excited about actually getting in there and doing something different. I don't call myself an inspirational speaker because who am I to say I'm inspirational. Everybody will be inspired by different ways. It gives me the yick a little bit when I see inspirational speaker.

“What I want to be known as is someone who helped people get excited and get engaged. Whether that's AI, whether that's the future of work, whether that's anything I'm having a conversation about, I want people to go away and say, "I'm going to do something different because that's actually really exciting."

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This exclusive interview with Erica Farmer was conducted by Tabish Ali of the Motivational Speakers Agency.