Forget the AI Hype: Two Lessons on What Drives Technology Adoption

Introduction

When a new technology like Artificial Intelligence or rather the Large Language Models like ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini enters our work and lives, our attention is often misdirected. We see a familiar pattern: on one side, there is hype and optimism about solving all our problems; on the other, there is anxiety about control and obsolescence. A third group quickly emerges: self-styled experts who profit from this confusion by selling courses on the technical specifications of the new tools, without telling people why and how they should use the new technology.

This is happening now with AI, just as it did with the personal computer. However, the history of technology adoption teaches a clear lesson. The primary obstacles to implementation are not technical; they are psychological and institutional. Success does not come from understanding the machine itself, but from creating an environment where it becomes genuinely useful. Below I describe the two main barriers to technology adoption, and neither is technical.

Lesson One: The Useless 'Expertise' of the 1990s

Consider the arrival of networked personal computers in the 1990s. The potential was obvious to some, while others feared a future where everyone would be "barcoded and controlled." Personally, I was the one of the first one to embrace the technology, and find use for the new fangled battery powered laptop for taking research notes in libraries and archives. Now everybody is doing it. The third, and most enterprising, group exploited this division and the fears, including the fear of missing out, of the nervous group. They sold courses to anxious professionals who had just acquired a PC with Windows 95.

These courses focused on the wrong things. They taught people what RAM and ROM were, how to memorize error codes, and the abstract logic of the operating system. This was entirely useless for individuals who simply wanted to write a document or send an email. They needed to learn how to use the application, not how the computer worked. The anxiety they felt, however, made them easy prey for technology con-men and carpet baggers. The parallel to the wave of "AI experts" selling IT focused courses today is clear.

Lesson Two: Removing Barriers in Papua New Guinea

My appointment as Vice-Chancellor of the Papua New Guinea University of Technology presented a different sort of challenge. The university's infrastructure was fundamentally broken. The library had a hole in the roof, campus roads were unpaved, power cuts were a daily, sometimes days-long, occurrence, and a minuscule VSAT satellite connection provided barely enough internet for email. The hardware was a dysfunctional mix of failing servers and PCs, frequently destroyed by voltage spikes or harmonic effects (changes in frequency). Combined with the tropical heat and humidity due to failing air conditioners, any piece of hardware would not last for more than a year in these circumstances.

The solution was not to teach people about technology, but to make it work. Over several years, through a series of focused, practical interventions, we systematically removed the barriers to use.

• We secured a deal for laptops for all students.
• We invested $1.5 million of operational savings into campus wide Wifi system, and a dedicated earth station for the O3B satellite system. [1]
• We installed Wi-Fi routers across the campus.
• We secured donated generators from corporate partners to provide a more stable power supply.

This made the university the first in the world to provide campus-wide broadband internet via a satellite connection. [2][3] The result was not planned, but it was immediate. With a reliable network and access to devices, 80% of the faculty independently adopted Google Classroom to distribute teaching materials. [1][4] It was simply more reliable and efficient than the university's failing photocopiers. [1] Because the technology saved them effort, time, and money, adoption was a natural, grassroots process. Thanks to this broad adoption, it became possible for example during COVID crisis to roll out online and blended learning, and the rest it history.

Regarding AI today, I am not saying we should not implement complementary policies that target critical areas, or take additional measures to steer adoption and use of AI in the right direction (see my post on the EU AI Act (2024-1689). Rather, we should collect evidence and undertake scientific research to better understand why some groups adopt AI and use it effectively, while others do not, and seem to give in to their fears and self-doubt. Prof. Pavone, and her French research group, for example, underscores the need for AI integration strategies in education to be tailored to students' specific psychological profiles and motivations, and the same holds true for their teachers.

Final Remarks: A Clear Path for AI Adoption

These two stories—one of misdirected effort and one of focused enablement—offer a clear lesson for integrating AI into our educational institutions today. We must avoid the twin traps of irresponsible experimentation and a paralysis born of trying to control every detail of the process, and every possible usage. 

The challenges are not in the technology itself. They are in our psychological barriers and the internal politics of our organizations. To move forward effectively, the path is clear:

1. Focus on Use, Not the Tool: Enable people to accomplish their actual tasks more easily. 
2. Eliminate Practical Barriers: Ensure there is reliable access, sufficient hardware, and a supportive infrastructure. Provide reliable hardware, basic training in the software, and let the adoption process take place.
3. Trust in Grassroots Adoption: If a tool is genuinely useful and accessible, people will use it without a top-down mandate.

AI is too important to be left to self-proclaimed experts or to those who would slow its progress for political gain or to enhance their own visibility and position. The task is to clear the path, create a safe and supportive environment, and let users walk it.

---

References

[5] Schram, A. (2015). "Life is a Journey of Learning: Opening of O3B Installation 29 May 2015." Personal Blog. [2]

[2] SES. (2017). "Unitech." Case Study. [3]

[3] The National. (2015). "Uni receives praise." The National. [6]

[6] Devpolicy Blog. (2020). Comment on "Increasing blended and online learning in PNG universities: the DWU experience." [1][4]

[1] Lae Chamber of Commerce. (2015). "MEDIUM ORBIT SATELLITES BRING LOW-COST, HIGH PERFORMANCE INTERNET TO PNG." [7]

Pavone, Giulia. “Generative AI in the Learning Process: Threat or Tool? Understanding the Role of Self-Esteem and Academic Anxiety in Shaping Student Motivations - Giulia Pavone, 2025.” Journal of Marketing Education, 2025, https://doi.org/10.1177/02734753251346857. Accessed 19 June 2025.

---

Learn more:

1. Comments - Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
2. Life is a Journey of Learning: Opening of O3B Installation 29 May 2015
3. Unitech - SES (funny: Papua New Guineans do not look like this).
4. Increasing blended and online learning in PNG universities: the DWU experience - Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre
5. Uni receives praise - The National
6. MEDIUM ORBIT SATELLITES BRING LOW-COST, HIGH PERFORMANCE INTERNET TO PNG - Lae Chamber of Commerce