Managing Humans Is Harder Than Managing Gen AI

At the forefront of workplace transformation stands Thomas Philippart de Foy, Chief Innovation Officer at Appspace, with a candid revelation: managing humans is far more complex than managing Gen AI. His perspective is grounded not in theory, but in twelve years of immersive leadership at Appspace and a legacy that traces back to his time at Cisco’s emerging technology group. As Appspace weaves Gen AI into the fabric of workplace communication and management, Thomas offers a rare, behind-the-scenes look in his interview with me into why it’s not the algorithms that test leadership most—it’s the people.

Unlocking Gen AI’s Operational Potential 

While much of the workplace world is still figuring out how to tiptoe into Gen AI adoption, Appspace has charged full speed ahead. Internally, the company is already deploying Gen AI across nearly every team—from support ticket automation to code generation, internal communications to content narration. The company even uses its own app to communicate with its global employee base, applying Gen AI to curate tone, generate imagery, and translate and narrate content in multiple languages.

Externally, Appspace has done something rare: integrated Gen AI at the platform level, not as a bolt-on feature. This deep-rooted approach enables modular AI use across diverse customer-facing products. For example, a user can create a story in the platform, auto-generate a fitting image, request tone and length adjustments, and even receive AI-crafted summaries, captions, and tags. All this, in real time, across multiple formats—mobile, web, digital signage—and in multiple languages.

Yet the ambition doesn’t stop there. Thomas hints at what’s next: automated praise systems driven by user input, live video with multilingual narration, and location-aware content targeting. The scope is vast and future-forward. But as powerful as Gen AI has proven to be, Thomas is quick to remind us: “The untouched potential of the human being is even greater.”

Resistance, Integration, and Control: The Real Obstacles 

Surprisingly, Thomas reports minimal resistance to Gen AI within Appspace’s own walls. The company culture is steeped in innovation and openness. But not all organizations share that mindset. “A year ago, we saw resistance from large corporations. That’s almost gone,” he says. “Every company now has an AI strategy.”

For companies still navigating the murky waters of AI integration, Appspace offers flexibility and governance. Organizations can plug in their own AI models or use Appspace’s, with the assurance that all content remains within the client’s environment. Nothing is shared externally. No data leaks. No corporate risk.

This is crucial as businesses grow wary of hallucinations, bias, and security vulnerabilities. By giving clients total control over their data and the option to integrate proprietary models, Appspace offers a rare antidote to the fear that often stalls AI adoption.

Still, Thomas acknowledges that the true barrier isn’t the AI. It’s ensuring humans use it well. “There’s a misperception that you’re educating your AI. No. You’re educating your users,” he emphasizes. His team now incorporates AI training into onboarding, teaching users how to create better prompts, reuse successful outcomes, and optimize intent formulation.

Human Complexity Outpaces Any Algorithm 

In Thomas’ view, the more challenging endeavor isn’t aligning AI with corporate structure—it’s managing the unpredictability and creativity of human users. Clients are constantly repurposing Appspace’s tools in ways the company never envisioned. He recalls how one logistics giant turned a desk-booking feature into a shuttle reservation system. “It’s amazing to see how customers find a way to use AI to do something we hadn’t thought about.”

This creativity is a double-edged sword. It’s thrilling, yes. But it demands continuous engagement, education, and adaptability from the Appspace team. That makes human management an ongoing, high-stakes project—where Gen AI, by contrast, executes flawlessly when given the right inputs and constraints.

This sentiment echoes broadly across industries. AI learns and improves predictably. People, on the other hand, bring with them a rich mix of vision, resistance, misunderstanding, and ingenuity. That’s what makes leadership so difficult—and so vital—in an AI-integrated workplace.

The Future Is Personalized, Multilingual, and Always On 

Thomas’ eyes are fixed on a near-term future where Gen AI enables highly personalized, location-specific workplace experiences. Imagine arriving at your desk to find content on a nearby screen tailored precisely to your role, mood, language preference, and meeting schedule. It’s not far off. Appspace is already experimenting with connecting desk bookings to content algorithms to dynamically deliver relevant information in real time.

He’s also bullish on video. Not just passive live streams, but events enriched with AI-driven translations and captions in multiple languages, offered live. “Creating content is one side,” he says. “Consuming content effectively is the other.” And ensuring global teams can understand and absorb information in their native language isn’t just convenient—it’s foundational to equity and engagement.

Even as the platform scales toward video, animation, and richer personalization, Thomas remains realistic about current limitations. “Image generation still struggles with corporate quality,” he admits. “We encourage clients to draw from licensed image databases instead of relying on generated visuals.” That humility—recognizing where AI still falls short—is part of what makes Appspace’s approach so trusted among its enterprise clients.

The Bottom Line: Technology Isn’t the Hard Part 

Gen AI might be rewriting the rules of workplace communication and management, but it’s not the wild card. Humans are. The real art lies in understanding how to guide and unlock the potential of employees, clients, and stakeholders as they navigate these new tools.

Thomas sums it up succinctly: “Managing humans is harder than managing Gen AI.” And in a world obsessed with digital transformation, it’s a crucial reminder. No matter how sophisticated the software, people remain the heart—and the greatest challenge—of every innovation.

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