News story

The missing link in AI adoption.

Bristol, UK14 Apr 2026Learning NewsSponge

Sponge to explore why AI adoption is stalling across large organisations - and how this can be addressed - in an upcoming webinar. Hosted by Josh Cardoz and James Gordon, the session offers practical frameworks and real examples for people-led AI enablement.

Bristol, 15 April 2026 – Amidst massive investment across industries, AI adoption is stalling in large, complex organisations – and the problem is people.  

Research from Harvard Business Review found that 93% of executives point to human issues, particularly around culture and change management, as the key barrier to AI adoption. Meanwhile, BCG reports that while AI usage is rising, only 6% of companies have begun meaningfully upskilling their workforce.

But is this a problem L&D is ready to solve? Sponge has announced a new digital event exploring this challenge - and what L&D leaders can do to address it.

AI adoption is stalling. Now what?, a webinar hosted by Josh Cardoz, Chief Creative and Learning Officer, and James Gordon, Learning Experience Consultant, will address the biggest challenge facing learning and enablement leaders in 2026: the human-shaped gap between AI investment and real-world adoption.

For Cardoz, the data points to a fundamental misalignment in how organisations are approaching AI rollout: "Organisations have been so consumed with their tech investment that there's been a missing investment in people - and that gap is where adoption goes to die," he said. 

"Employees are wary of the technology and fatigued by constant change. Managers lack the autonomy to experiment. This is a people problem, but it’s one where L&D will need meaningful innovation to solve."

The session will cover where AI adoption typically stalls, why it’s the ultimate test of L&D’s laggy uptake of innovative strategies, and offer solutions spanning grassroots learning through to leadership engagement, drawing upon real examples from the Fortune 500 brands Sponge works with.  

The webinar is free to attend. Register here.

AI adoption is stalling. Now what? | 22nd April | 3pm UK | 10 am EST | 7 am PST 

Learning outcomes: 

• Diagnose where AI adoption stalls.  
• Strategies for grassroots learning through to leadership.  
• Frameworks you can use for AI enablement design.  
• Real examples to inform your own approach.

[Sources: Harvard Business Review, How Executives Are Thinking About AI in 2026, 2026, and BCG, The AI Adoption Puzzle: Why Usage is Up But Impact is Not, 2025.]