Beyond the Hype: Peter Cappelli on Where AI Boosts Productivity, and Where It Just Doesn’t

This week, we’re doing something different. Instead of our usual episodes, we’re sharing a special conversation featuring “Where AI Works” season 3 host Peter Cappelli on the podcast “Using AI at Work.” It’s a timely, unfiltered look at how companies are actually trying, and often failing, to implement AI.

In this interview, Peter brings his decades of research at Wharton to dismantle the biggest myths leaders believe about AI adoption:

• Why boards are obsessed with headcount reductions, and why that’s the wrong metric
• The real reasons only ~5% of companies are meaningfully implementing AI
• What executives get wrong when they chase “off-the-shelf” AI solutions
• How job redesign, not job elimination, is where the true productivity gains come from
• The surprising truth about employee cooperation: guaranteeing jobs may actually speed up AI progress

He also breaks down two real-world case studies, including Ricoh’s attempt to automate insurance paperwork and a manufacturing company’s AI-driven quality control system, revealing what actually works, what doesn’t, and why AI projects fail long before the technology does.

If you’re a leader trying to separate hype from reality, or if you want to understand how AI reshapes work without erasing workers, this conversation is essential listening.