Why is GenAI missing in action at work? MIT NANDA’s 2025 report says 95% of projects deliver no ROI. We unpack the “GenAI Divide,” shadow AI habits, and what actually works: context-rich, learning systems, strategic partnerships, back-office automation, and agentic platforms that coordinate across the web—safely, reliably, at scale.
This episode digs into MIT NANDA’s “State of AI in Business 2025” and its big plot twist: despite splashy investments, most companies aren’t getting results from GenAI. Why? Tools work fine for individuals, but enterprise rollouts often stumble—new tech doesn’t fit the workflow, can’t learn the company’s context, and never quite talks to existing systems.
We translate the report’s insights into plain English. Think of general-purpose AI like a clever temp worker: great at quick tasks, not so great at your company’s unique processes. The report argues for a different path—learning-capable, customized systems that adapt over time, built through smart partnerships rather than massive in-house moonshots.
You’ll hear where the early wins live (hello, back-office automation), how to measure value without fuzzy metrics, and what to do about the “shadow AI economy,” where employees quietly use their favorite tools anyway. Finally, we look ahead to “agentic” systems—AIs that coordinate actions across the internet, like well-trained assistants that can plan, execute, and improve.
Whether you’re skeptical or just tired of slide-deck promises, this conversation offers a practical map for crossing the GenAI Divide and getting real ROI—without needing a PhD or a billion-dollar lab.
Rabbit Hole 
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