AI hype hasn’t disappeared, but patience has.
In this episode of ThinkCast, recorded from the Gartner CIO Leadership Forum Opening Keynote, Gartner VP Analyst Tori Paulman breaks down why many AI initiatives stall after early wins — and what separates CIOs who move through the hype from those who fail to generate lasting value.
Hear why organizations making real progress with AI aren’t chasing the next breakthrough use case. Instead, they’re changing how they decide what to stop, when to quit, where to double down, and how to lead through the Trough of Disillusionment.
You’ll learn:
A Better Perspective on AI Value
Leading Through the Trough of Disillusionment
What Actually Creates AI Value
Scaling AI Throughput
Scaling Value Means Quitting More
Building the AI Assembly Line
From Hype to Lasting Value
Tori Paulman | VP Analyst
Tori Paulman is a Vice President on Gartner’s CIO Tech & Digital Talent research team, where they help executives navigate the leadership, talent, and cultural shifts essential for success in the AI era. As co-leader of Gartner’s cross-functional Future of Work research community, Tori helps guide research that equips leaders to make future-ready decisions today. In 2023, Tori launched Gartner’s inaugural Hype Cycle for the Future of Work, spotlighting the most transformative trends reshaping the workplace each year. Since 2022, they have led Gartner’s biannual Digital Worker Survey, the firm’s flagship study offering deep insights into how employees engage with workplace technology. Tori describes their life’s work as ensuring that humans have an engaging, validating, and supportive experiences with technology, meeting them where they and empowering them to unlock their goals. Top Issues I Help Clients Address: - Developing an AI-ready workforce that achieves breakthrough productivity - Maximizing the return-on-employee through human-centric AI strategies - Strengthening experience through quantitative and qualitative listening - Attracting and retaining top talent with a digital employee value proposition - Activating workforce ambition to adopt AI and other emerging technologies - Driving workforce transformation through future-of-work strategies - Accelerating leadership impact with AI-driven insights and automation - Shaping digital workplace innovation to enhance collaboration and productivity - Advising executives on Gartner’s top strategic technology trends Years of Experience:- 2021 beginning at Gartner- 25 years in IT industry- 7 Years Financial Services- 7 Years Entertainment- 6 Years Retail- 5 Years Professional Services for Non-Profit and Higher - 1 Year Software Development, specifically BPM
Hosted by: Karen Lockhart
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