The AI Upskill Most Teams Are Overlooking

Most AI initiatives don't fail because the technology is wrong; they fail because the humans around it stop thinking as carefully as they used to. In this episode of ThinkCast, recorded from a live session at Gartner CIO Leadership Forum, Gartner Distinguished VP Analyst Mandi Bishop breaks down why so‑called "soft skills" have quietly become the hardest — and most essential — capability to scale in the age of AI. From practical workforce exercises to Mandi's own racing experience, hear how over‑reliance, complacency and automation bias creep in — and how CIOs can rebuild critical thinking, judgment and contextual awareness to turn AI tools into true performance accelerators. You'll learn: Why automation bias is one of the biggest hidden risks in AI adoption How soft skills like skepticism and judgment directly impact AI outcomes Why hands‑on techniques, like hallucination hunts, can build real AI literacy How better prompting reinforces human thinking instead of replacing it What CIOs can do now to operationalize soft skills across the enterprise Dig deeper: Attend a Gartner CIO Conference near you See why Gartner is the world authority on AI Try out AskGartner for more AI-powered insights