AI Adoption, Governance, and Leadership: Why AI Success Is a People Challenge E171

Why do so many AI projects fail to scale even when the technology works? In this episode, we explore a critical question in enterprise AI adoption: is the real barrier of technology, or is it leadership, governance, trust, and people readiness? KEY MOMENTS  00:00 Introduction  3:30 Why AI adoption assessments matter before scaling  5:46 Leadership vs. management in AI transformation  10:15 How to improve employee engagement in AI adoption  12:52 How to convince executives to support AI adoption  15:25 How many companies are investing in AI adoption  19:49 Dr. Marissa Alert’s path into AI adoption consulting  22:01 AI governance, guardrails, and responsible adoption  25:22 What MDA Wellness does and how it supports organizations    In this episode of the FIT4Privacy Podcast, host Punit Bhatia speaks with Dr. Marissa Alert, a psychologist and human-centered AI adoption expert, about one of the biggest reasons AI initiatives underperform: organizations focus on tools, but overlook people, leadership, and governance. The discussion looks at AI adoption through a practical business lens. It explains why employee trust, psychological safety, leadership alignment, and clear decision-making often determine whether AI delivers return on investment or stalls after the pilot stage. You will learn why AI training alone is not enough, how resistance and disengagement show up during transformation, and why organizations need governance, guardrails, and stronger executive sponsorship to move from experimentation to sustainable adoption. If you are leading digital transformation, planning an enterprise AI rollout, or trying to improve adoption of generative AI, this episode offers practical insights to help turn AI investment into measurable business value. ⸻  ABOUT THE GUEST  Dr. Marissa Alert is a psychologist, advisor, and human-centered AI adoption expert who helps executive teams address the behavioral, leadership, and trust barriers that slow enterprise AI adoption. She works with organizations to improve readiness, strengthen alignment, and turn AI strategy into measurable business results. Her insights have been featured in *Forbes, Newsweek, Yahoo Life,* and *The Guardian.*    ABOUT THE HOST     Punit Bhatia is a privacy expert, trainer, and mentor who works with business and privacy leaders to build strong privacy culture, improve awareness, and make compliance a business priority. He has worked with professionals in more than 30 countries and helps leaders navigate the intersection of privacy, AI, governance, and trust.    ⸻  Resources & Links    Guest Links  Marissa Alert  • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marissadalert/     Grow Skills (Privacy Courses & Insights)  • Courses: https://growskills.store/courses/  • Insights: https://growskills.store/insights/  • Website: https://growskills.store/    FIT4Privacy  • Website: https://www.fit4privacy.com  • Podcast: https://www.fit4privacy.com/podcast  • Blog: https://www.fit4privacy.com/blog  • YouTube: http://youtube.com/fit4privacy    Punit Bhatia  • Website: https://www.punitbhatia.com    Books   • *Be Ready for GDPR*  • *AI & Privacy – How to Find Balance*  • *Intro to GDPR*  • *Be an Effective DPO*