Why a useful tool goes unused

An open licence does not make a team that uses AI. In many organisations, a few curious people take up the tool, most try it once, and usage drops off after a month. It is almost never a question of technology.

Research on technology acceptance has shown this for more than thirty years. A person adopts a tool when they find it useful for their own work and easy to use. Later, the work of Venkatesh and his colleagues added two forces: what colleagues do and expect, and the practical conditions that make use easier, such as time, help and access.

• The usefulness is not visible: nobody has shown what the tool changes in this particular team’s work.
• The effort seems too great: you have to learn how to phrase a request, and the first try disappoints.
• The people around you do not follow: the manager does not talk about it, colleagues do nothing with it.
• Fear dominates: fear of being replaced, of getting it wrong, or of exposing sensitive data.

Each obstacle calls for its own lever. A real case makes the usefulness visible. A request ready to copy reduces the effort. A manager who uses it openly and colleagues who act as champions change the environment. And a clear message about the rules and the future of jobs eases the fear.