Yesterday in AI | 17 August 2026

Why AI Adoption Fails at Work (And How to Fix It) with Bianca Baumann

According to a McKinsey survey, 78% of organizations are now using AI, but buying enterprise licenses is the only easy part. The real challenge? Getting humans to actually change the way they work.

In this special extended episode of Yesterday in AI, Mike sits down with Bianca Baumann, VP of Learning Solutions & Innovation at Ardent Learning and a veteran workforce transformation executive. They skip the standard "what is AI" discussion and dig deep into the exact reasons why AI deployments stall out after the initial launch and how to fix the human side of the equation.

In this episode, we cover:

• Transformation vs. Theater: How to identify if your organization is genuinely evolving or just performing "innovation theater."
• The Manager Bottleneck: Why middle managers are the critical make-or-break point for everyday AI adoption.
• The Missing ROI: Why companies struggle to see a quantifiable return on their AI investments.
• Marketing to Your Team: How leaders can use "learner personas" and internal campaigns to get hesitant, fearful employees on board.

Links & Resources:

• Learn more about Bianca Baumann and Ardent Learning: https://www.ardentlearning.com/
• Read Think Like a Marketer, Train Like an L&D Pro: https://a.co/d/03AGKcU6
• Follow Bianca on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/biancabaumann/

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