Everywhere we go right now, we hear the same story about AI: "It's so easy now." "Things are moving so fast." "Anyone can build solutions." And yes — everything is easy when you already know how to do it.

But starting from scratch in a completely new field, tools or way of thinking? That is something very different and over the past weeks, this gap between how AI is talked about and how AI is actually experienced has become very real to me.

I'm part of Unge Ledere Møre og Romsdal, and recently the full group went on a study trip to San Francisco as part of the leadership program (personally had to decline as I had to decide participant before I landed my new job). The agenda was impressive: Tesla, Google, Tana, the startup scene, investors, Berkeley, Stanford — all focused on AI, acceleration, and possibility.

The message was clear: AI is here. It's powerful. And it's "easy." But when the trip ended and the conversations became more honest, another story emerged.

"Everyone talks about agents — but no one explains what they are"

Over the last week, I've had several conversations with people from my group and also with clients I work with. Different backgrounds, different roles, different age and generations — but remarkably similar reactions:

"Everyone talks about AI agents, but no one told us what they actually are." "If I don't understand it, how am I supposed to build one?" "I don't know where to start. Or where to stop."

Yesterday, I sat down with two women from the group (and I have six more coming for a session next week). The goal wasn't to turn them into developers or AI experts. The goal was much simpler — and much more important:

Sales might call this a pre-sales activity, as they represent bigger orgs in our region. Consultants might call it consulting hours, as it could have been billable hours. I see it as something else entirely: a responsibility.

Why This Matters — Especially for Women

We already know that women, on average, are slower to adopt AI tools in their day-to-day work. Research from LeanIn and Harvard Business School shows that many women actively avoid AI — often because they fear being seen as less competent if they rely on it.

Even more paradoxical: women engineers who use AI tools are sometimes perceived as less skilled than male peers doing exactly the same thing. So when we say "AI is easy" without support, context, or learning paths, we don't just exclude beginners. We reinforce existing gaps. And for many, AI isn't exciting — it's intimidating.

It certainly is also for me, and people refer to me as an expert. I'm lucky enough to sit next to people who patiently answer my "noob questions" every single day. Thank you! Because pushing code and building solutions is not straightforward if you've never done it before, or it is years ago. Learning new tools and experiencing the struggle, it is intimidating every single day.

Not understanding something doesn't make you slow. It makes you human.

Let's Not Repeat the Mistakes of the Last Digital Transformation

Ten years ago, many organizations treated digital transformation as a technology problem. We focused on tools, platforms, and systems. What we, again, underestimated was the human side.

AI is not just another tech rollout. It's a fundamental shift in how we work, think, decide, and create value. Anthropic's research shows that some of the roles with the highest AI potential are not technical at all: sales, administration, management, leadership. That means we have a large group of employees who are just starting their journey. If we don't show compassion now — if we only celebrate speed, efficiency, and forerunners — we risk leaving too many behind.

This is where the opportunity lies.

As individuals:

As teams:

As an organization:

We, both internally and externally, need to cheer on those who move fast and actively lift those who are just getting started.

AI doesn't become powerful when only a few master it. It becomes powerful when many feel safe enough to try, repeat, fail and start over again.