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The Hidden Cost of Sticking to Default

Tony Wood |

If you ask your team who’s played with AI today, chances are many will say yes. But go deeper - who’s tinkered? Most will admit they haven’t touched project creation or explored any settings at all. This isn’t a minor gap - it’s a defining leadership challenge for 2025.

The next leap isn’t about more usage—it’s about rewiring how people think: curiosity and experimentation over routine clicks.

Why Inertia Wins Unless You Intervene

Teams freeze up around new technology for practical reasons:

  • Settings look risky or “for experts.”
  • Failure feels unsafe especially in organisations that prize clarity over curiosity.
  • Tools hide their “try me” levers behind jargon and menus.

According to research, “psychological inertia” is the single biggest barrier to tinkering—and it won’t shift on its own. Leaders must actively break this cycle by rewarding curiosity, not just right answers.
Overcoming our psychological barriers to embracing AI - Pursuit, High trust, Tackles how to foster experimentation, 2024-09-18

Why Tinkering Feels So Good (and Pays Dividends)

There’s neuroscience behind the tinkerer’s grin. As Md Kamrul Hasan puts it,
“Learning is fundamentally rewarding because of the intellectual challenges it involves. Overcoming such challenges activates the brain’s reward system, producing dopamine that reinforces motivation and engagement. The satisfaction derived from this process – the effort-reward cycle – is a cornerstone of human development.”
How AI quietly undermines the joy and effort of learning, High trust, Scientific evidence on the value of hands-on learning, 2025-06-10

This is why “safe failure” and playful experimenting aren’t perks. They’re essential for beating complacency and unlocking discretionary effort.

Immersion Beats Theory: Action Steps for Leaders

Modern AI makes tinkering easy if teams are nudged the right way. From sandbox explorations to all-in AI weeks, the research is clear: hands-on trial is the only way most people “get it.”

Rebecca Hinds recommends,
“Imagine dedicating an entire week to going 'all in' on AI. Encourage your team to use AI for every task, whether big or small. It may seem a bit audacious, but the potential for learning and transformation is significant. In my experience, this kind of full-throttle exploration into AI can demystify the technology for team members and boost their confidence in using it.”
5 innovative ways to encourage AI adoption in your organization, High trust, Pragmatic leadership advice, 2025-01-10

Here’s what works:

It’s Not Too Late to Pivot

Here’s the thing AI will only broaden the gap between the curious and everyone else. Tinkerers don’t wait for instructions; they learn, adapt and outpace. Mitchel Resnick notes,
“I believe that these new AI technologies (compared with earlier AI technologies) have greater potential for supporting young people in project-based, interest-driven creative learning experiences and thus supporting their development as creative, curious, collaborative learners.”
Generative AI and Creative Learning: Concerns, Opportunities, and Choices, Medium-High trust, Explores open-ended, creative learning, 2023-04-23

Don’t just hand your team a tool—challenge them to change it, break it, and rebuild it.

Your Next Steps (In 24 Hours and This Quarter)

  • Pick an AI setting this week. Change it. See what breaks or blooms.
  • Publicly share your own AI “tinkering log.”
  • Host a “what if we tried?” session at your next standup.
  • Create a safe-to-fail space scrap the “settings are for experts only” myth.

By fostering a culture of hands-on experimentation, leaders don’t just future-proof talent—they help people rediscover the joy of learning in a digital world.

Links:

Quotes:

  • How AI quietly undermines the joy and effort of learning, Trust rating: High. "Learning is fundamentally rewarding because of the intellectual challenges it involves. Overcoming such challenges activates the brain’s reward system, producing dopamine that reinforces motivation and engagement. The satisfaction derived from this process – the effort-reward cycle – is a cornerstone of human development." (2025-06-10)
  • 5 innovative ways to encourage AI adoption in your organization, Trust rating: High. "Imagine dedicating an entire week to going 'all in' on AI. Encourage your team to use AI for every task, whether big or small. It may seem a bit audacious, but the potential for learning and transformation is significant. In my experience, this kind of full-throttle exploration into AI can demystify the technology for team members and boost their confidence in using it." (2025-01-10)
  • Generative AI and Creative Learning: Concerns, Opportunities, and Choices, Trust rating: Medium-High. "I believe that these new AI technologies (compared with earlier AI technologies) have greater potential for supporting young people in project-based, interest-driven creative learning experiences — and thus supporting their development as creative, curious, collaborative learners." (2023-04-23)

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