Reframing Apparent AI Resistance
Welcome to the Course
Welcome to "The AI Game Show: CHROs Compete to Transform." This course is based on a fast-paced game-show session at Transform 2026, featuring Danny Guillory (Chief People Officer, Gametime), Alexis Gonzales-Black (President & Partner, August Public), Chris McKay (Founder, Maginative), Rob Meadows (President, AI Foundation), and Brandon Sammut (Chief People Officer, Zapier). Together, they myth-busted common AI assumptions, debated high-stakes scenarios, and surfaced the operational decisions that actually move HR forward. Across three units, you'll rethink what's really blocking AI adoption, learn why messy human processes must be mapped before any automation begins, and practice responding to ambitious CEO mandates by reframing them as opportunity-driven alternatives.
Let's start with the insight the panel argued most forcefully: what looks like employee resistance to AI is almost never about willingness — it's about time, support, and trust.
The Bottleneck Isn't the Technology — It's Whether People Have Space to Use It
In the session when the panel asked the room to stand if they believed "the number one reason AI transformations fail is because people are resistant." Most stayed seated — and the panelists explained why that instinct was right. Gonzales-Black put it bluntly:
Gonzales-Black: I suspect that the reason why many of us don't have agents running back in our hotel rooms doing all the menial tasks for us is because we have other stuff to do and we don't have time."
The capacity to experiment with AI is inequitably distributed, and people who have more margin in their schedules naturally pull ahead, making everyone else look resistant by comparison.
Another panelist sharpened this further: "irrespective of the reason the bottleneck is people... the technology isn't the bottleneck anymore." Whether the root cause is low literacy, low bandwidth, or low trust in the tools, the strategic response is the same — stop blaming the technology and start adjusting the conditions around the people. That means creating dedicated time, offering structured support, and building trust through transparency. As the panel emphasized, labeling someone as "resistant" before you've checked whether they've had any real opportunity to learn is a leadership failure, not a people problem.
