In this episode of The Human Protocol, host Michael Solomon sits down with James Garner, a former quantity surveyor turned AI and data leader, to unpack the widening gap between what AI can do and how ready people actually are to use it. James shares how his unconventional background in construction and infrastructure gives him a grounded view on rolling out AI in the real world. The conversation moves through the rise of agentic AI, the arrival of physical AI and humanoid robots, the emotional reactions people have when they see AI in action, and why most leaders are underestimating the change management side of this shift. It is a candid, practical look at where AI is headed and what it will take for humans to keep up.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• Why the "capability gap" between AI adoption and human readiness keeps growing, and why it shows up equally across ages and industries
• The difference between simple chatbots, agentic AI, and physical AI (humanoid robots), and what each means for your work
• Why treating AI as a tech rollout instead of a change management process is where most companies fail
• How the four AI personas (doomers, gloomers, bloomers, zoomers) show up in every boardroom, and how to work with all of them
• Why managing AI agents may be harder than managing people, and what skill you need to build now
• What rising AI costs could mean for how we use these tools going forward
  

Connect with James Garner
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesgarner1976/

Connect with Mykel Salomon
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mykelsalomon/
Website: https://thehumanprotocolgroup.com/