The AI revolution is moving at a breakneck pace. It took 75 years for the telephone to reach 50 million users. ChatGPT hit a million users in just five days. The velocity of AI adoption is shocking, but what we’re experiencing is not just rapid tech adoption. It is an unprecedented shift in how humans interact with technology. Unsurprisingly, most organisations are still scrambling to figure out how to skill their workforce for a Human+AI future.

This disruption is different from others we’ve seen because it’s not just about providing people with access to new tools and the skills they need to use them. The real challenge is ensuring that people develop the mindset needed to use AI effectively, both now and in the future.

 

Why Traditional Enterprise Skilling Initiatives are Falling Short

The majority of any organisation’s workforce is unlikely to be comprised of AI masters (those who are using AI to solve truly wicked problems) or AI builders (those who design and develop AI agents for their function). Most employees need to be AI-enabled, meaning they need to be able to use AI tools effectively and sustainably. These individuals require the essential skillsets and toolsets that accompany any digital transformation; however, the new future of AI-driven work also necessitates instilling a specific mindset.

Most companies are now making a deeply ingrained legacy skilling mistake: they focus on the tech and the skills needed to use it first and assume everything will fall into place. The problem is that this traditional approach to enterprise skilling takes mindsets for granted.

Let’s use communication skills as an example. Legacy enterprise skilling strategies will deconstruct communication skills into various components—such as active listening strategies and managing tone and emotional impact—and develop learning experiences that reinforce best practices for each component. This approach assumes employees have already adopted a mindset that values communication as an essential skill.

Similarly, AI skilling often assumes employees already have the right mindset about AI, a set of beliefs, attitudes, and expectations that support thoughtful, responsible use of the technology. In reality, this is where the largest change takes place. Mindset is the foundation for AI fluency. It is where curiosity, adaptability, and a shift from "me" (human) to "we" (human+AI) drive transformation. Without this, AI remains just another tool rather than a strategic asset.

 

Beyond AI Proficiency: Build AI Fluency

Most organisations are investing considerable energy in AI proficiency—teaching prompting techniques, training employees on AI-driven tools, and implementing governance policies. But here’s the problem: being proficient with AI is not the same as being AI-enabled. And you only become AI-enabled if you have the right mindset in place to guide your use of AI.

This is where most enterprise skilling strategies fail. Organisations focus on skillsets (how to use AI) and toolsets (which AI tools to implement), but they don’t address the deeper transformation: how AI changes the way we think, solve problems, and collaborate.

Consider prompting, a skill many organisations are focusing on today. Prompting is a disposable skill. Just like formatting floppy disks was once a necessary skill but is now obsolete, prompting will become less relevant as AI models become more intuitive. The actual competency isn’t in learning today’s AI tricks—it’s in developing the problem-solving mindset needed to work with AI over time.

Focusing solely on tools and skills neglects a critical aspect of AI integration, namely its impact on cognitive load and the need for a balanced approach to problem-solving. AI can take over routine tasks, but without the right mindset, people risk disengaging from the deeper thinking that drives innovation and creativity. To truly create an AI-enabled workforce, organisations must ensure that employees develop the mindset necessary to work effectively with AI rather than become overly reliant on it.

 

AI as a Thinking Partner: Avoid the Cognitive Trade-Off

AI is great at minimising cognitive load. If you have 100 tasks a day, AI can automate or optimise a good chunk of them, leaving you with fewer problems to solve. This is convenient in the short term, but the trade-off is that when people stop engaging in critical thinking, those skills atrophy. Just like over-relying on your GPS can reduce your spatial awareness, overreliance on AI will weaken your problem-solving abilities over time.

It’s a paradox. The very skills we need most in an AI-powered world are the ones most at risk of decline with increased use not guided by the right mindsets. If AI does all the thinking for us, how do we ensure people still develop and maintain the ability to question, analyse, and innovate?

Rather than treating AI as just another tool to implement, organisations must embed mindsets that value critical thinking and intellectual curiosity into their AI skilling strategies. AI should be an accelerant for better thinking, not a crutch that weakens it. The real question isn’t, “Which AI tool should we use?” It’s “What’s our strategy for solving problems with AI?”

Organisations that fail to build this strategic mindset will struggle to integrate AI effectively. They’ll roll out tools, train employees, and still find themselves falling behind competitors who embed AI into decision-making and innovation.

 

The Future of Work Requires AI-Enabled Critical Thinking

In the past, major technological changes were discussed, planned, and then implemented across businesses. What’s different now is that the AI transformation is happening from the bottom up. People have been accessing AI tools long before their organisation even had a strategy.

The future of work won’t reward those who use AI—it will reward those who think with AI. Build the mindset first, and the skills will follow.

 

Matt Donovan 

Chief Learning and Innovation Officer, GP Strategies