The Psychology of AI Adoption at Work: Overcoming Fear, Identity Threat, and Shadow AI

What is the intersection of AI and compliance? What about machine learning? Are you using ChatGPT? These questions are just three of the many we will explore in this cutting-edge podcast series, Compliance and AI, hosted by Tom Fox, the award-winning Voice of Compliance. Today, Tom visits with Dr. Gleb Tsipursky about his book, The Psychology of AI Adoption at Work: From Resistance to Results (Georgetown University Press), arguing that AI adoption fails mainly due to human factors, not tool complexity.

Citing Pew research showing widespread anxiety about AI and an MIT finding that 95% of AI pilots fail to scale, Dr. Tsipursky describes three emotional blockers: fear of job loss (“AI alarmists”), identity threat when AI automates work people take pride in (“pragmatic resisters”), and shame-driven “reluctant adopters” who use AI secretly, fueling shadow AI risk and limiting ROI. He advises leaders to commit to growth over layoffs, automate disliked tasks first, model AI use, and create sharing channels and meetings to normalize safe adoption. He also emphasizes governance with clear ethical guardrails and individual accountability, replacing approval bottlenecks that drive shadow use.

Key highlights:

Why AI Adoption Fails

Three Emotional Blockers

Trust and Social Stigma

AI Versus Calculators

Creating Psychological Safety

Tactics for Identity Threat

Ending Shadow AI Usage

Ethical Guardrails and Governance

What Success Looks Like