Deep Dive: There's no AI in people, but there should be

AI is no longer a technology issue, it’s growing into a people and culture issue too.

There’s no denying that AI is going to change the way we work. Microsoft research shows 63 percent of Aussies are producing work that they couldn’t have done a year ago.

But leaders need to understand that AI isn’t a “set and forget” technology, in fact, humans need to still be smack bang in the middle of every AI project.

For Kerry Purcell, CEO, at Lab3, emphasised that people need to sit at the centre of the technology, not the other way around.

“The organisations seeing the best results are investing in people, leadership and adoption alongside the technology,” he said.

Purcell added that human oversight is “critical” in the adoption of AI.

"From governance and ethics through to validation and accountability, people need to remain at the centre of every AI initiative,” he said.

Partners are cottoning on to the fact that people are integral to the AI adoption and implementation process

Helene Martin, managing director at SA-based Pit Stop Technologies emphasised the need for people when implementing AI because the technology doesn’t know her clients or her business problems.

“[AI] doesn't know the council we work with has three different sign off chains depending on who you ask, or that the childcare centre down the road can't have staff burning an hour with a chatbot when there are kids to look after,” she explained.

“Someone must sit in the middle and work out what the tool can do for that business. That's a person, always will be.”

The need for skills

Recent research shows that leaders are scurrying to implement some form of AI technology to ensure that they don’t get left behind.

In the Microsoft 2026 Work Trend Index, 68 percent of respondents said they are implementing AI quickly fearing they’ll fall behind if they don’t adapt sooner rather than later.

But to implement this tech, it is no longer for the CTO, CIO or technology team, it is now an issue for the entire organisation.

Like Liam Neeson in the movie Taken, the people who are implementing the technology need a particular set of skills.

Purcell at Lab3 agreed noting, "Every one of us needs to reskill. AI is creating new opportunities across every role and organisation, which means the skills and capabilities required are changing."

He also highlighted the need for AI literacy.

“Every employee needs a level of understanding to use AI safely, evaluate its outputs and apply the results effectively to their role, team and organisation."

When referring to what type of skills, Martin explained that the answer changes depending on who you ask.

“And that's part of the problem,” she noted.

“There’s the ‘how do I write a decent prompt’ stuff, which is what gets all the airtime. There's knowing when to trust what it spits out and when to double check it.

“There's the governance side, what data you're even allowed to put into these things, which matters a lot when a significant portion of our client base is in health and local government. Nobody talks about the last two nearly enough.”

Martin said there also needs to be time and confidence given to workers to develop their skills.

“Our clients aren't short on smart people, they're short on time to sit down and work out how this fits their day,” she said.

“Call that a skills gap if you want, but the fix for ‘nobody's shown me how this helps my job’ isn't a training course, it's someone sitting with them.”

Another “skills” issue is convincing staff to use AI.

“Copilot, Claude - they work, the AI stuff bundled into Microsoft 365 works. We can flick a licence on for a client this afternoon,” Martin said.

“Getting their staff to actually use it, and use it well, that's the hard part, and it's got nothing to do with the software.”

Vendor POV

On the vendor side of the fence, Pete Andrew, group VP, ANZ, ServiceNow agrees that people need to be at the centre of an AI implementation.

“To me, any transformation, and this is no different, needs to be business led. Needs to have the employees at the heart of it to identify the problem you're trying to solve that makes a difference to their job,” he explained.

He highlighted a benefit with AI is that it removes the “drudge work” to help people be better at their jobs.

“The drudge work that people do day in day out is so boring, so painful, and such a waste of effort,” he said.

“They want to automate that so they can free up time, whether it's spending more time with customers, it's engaging with the citizens that they're supporting, or just engaging them generally to be more innovative in what they do.

“To me, the biggest win is removing that drudgery.”

People bring oversight

Another reason why people are so critical for AI implementation is they bring direction and control over the systems.

Nyssa Waters, CEO at AI consultancy Possibl.ai explained that AI is being implemented in businesses right now without oversight. This is when human intervention is critical.

“This is the channel's domain, and always has been,” she noted.

“Partners have spent decades as the trusted owners of infrastructure, integration and security - that is exactly the capability this moment requires. The choice in front of clients isn't AI or no AI. It's implemented properly, or implemented in the dark.

She added, “And I'd push back on framing this purely as risk. We need AI in businesses. Not only to maximise productivity, but to build new products, to innovate, to differentiate.”

Local knowledge

In the end, it’s about having local knowledge and helping organisations in their digital transformation projects.

Martin said right now, the issue is more around change management with a sprinkling of AI.

“Sixteen years running this business, every tech shift has come down to the same thing, having someone local who knows the business sit with the staff until it clicks,” she said.

“Doesn't matter how good the tool is otherwise. That gap is the bit I actually care about.”