𝟗𝟑 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐌𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬. 𝟕 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐇𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬.

The 93 cents buys capability. The 7 cents buys trust. Guess which one decides whether your AI adoption succeeds.

At Fortune's Brainstorm Tech this week, Deloitte vice chair China Widener shared a striking number: of every dollar enterprises spend on AI, about 93 cents goes to the technology. Roughly 7 cents goes to the humans expected to work with it.

Then she added the line that matters most: "𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦, 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦."

That gap explains a paradox many leaders face.

Employees are not resisting AI. As I noted in May, 78% already use AI tools their employer never approved. The appetite is real.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐀𝐈 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐓𝐎 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦.

A tool imposed from above, with training as an afterthought, reads as a threat. The same tool, introduced with honest answers about roles, time to learn, and a voice in how it gets used, reads as an investment in people.

Same technology. Different trust.

And trust is not free. It is built with exactly the budget most companies skip:

· Real training time, on the clock, not after hours
· Transparency about what happens to roles as AI absorbs tasks
· A say for employees in choosing where AI is applied first
· Leaders visibly learning alongside their teams

Now the encouraging part: 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞.

Compute depreciates. A workforce that trusts the transformation gains value with every new capability you deploy. Each successful rollout makes the next one faster, because people lean in instead of bracing.

Seen that way, the lopsided dollar is a map of opportunity. Shifting even a few cents toward humans is cheap. Few are doing it. The advantage sits there, unclaimed.

A practical check for your next AI budget review: next to every technology line, look for the matching human line: training, communication, role redesign. If you find nothing, you are not funding a transformation. You are just funding an installation.

#AIAdoption #Leadership #TrustInAI #FutureOfWork #HumanCapital

Contact

bruno.gentil@sherpaconsultingasia.com

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