Why are the people who need AI the most, are often the ones who fear it?

In the Image: A man intensely focused on his work in a dimly lit room is surrounded by glowing computer screens, one displaying a vivid flame that contrasts with the darkness.

Imagine the moment in history when humans first learned how to create fire.

It’s an extraordinary moment. Suddenly we have control over a powerful force we’d only dreamed of. The “visionaries”, the early adopters, immediately grasp the potential. They talk excitedly about staying warm on cold nights, cooking food, lighting dark spaces, and protecting themselves from predators. The excitement is contagious.

And yet, I can only imagine that some people were terrified. Can I survive in a world where others can make fire and I can’t? What does it say about me that while I’m scared of this new thing, others are already busy improving techniques and building bigger bonfires?

You see where I’m going with this. This is exactly what’s happening with Artificial Intelligence today.

On this International Day of Persons with Disabilities, I want to talk about the most revolutionary tool we currently have, and how, without meaning to, we are creating conditions that push away the people who could benefit from it the most.

We have an extraordinary tool. Yet we’re building an environment that makes people afraid of it

AI can act like a brilliant personal assistant. It can help organize tasks, break down complex projects, track what might fall through the cracks, improve written communication, prioritize better, and offer support exactly where someone struggles. Until recently, these were privileges reserved for senior executives with personal assistants.

And yet something strange is happening. The people who could gain the most from AI are the ones most afraid to use it.

In conversations with tech employees with disAbilities, I hear the same things again and again. Exceptionally talented autistic engineers who struggle with task organization, brilliant analysts with ADHD who can’t prioritize, employees with anxiety who desperately need reassurance that they’re doing things correctly. All of them could gain tremendous support from AI. And yet - when I suggest trying it, I immediately sense the fear.

“I don’t really know how to use it”, “Everyone else is already an expert and I’m behind”, “I don’t get this stuff”, “I barely keep up with my tasks. I don’t have time to learn another tool” to quote some reactions.

And they’re right. Change is scary. Especially for people who are already navigating additional challenges. But there’s another layer here - something we, unintentionally, are doing that makes the fear even worse.

As a society, as the tech industry, as organizations, we’re presenting AI in a way that heightens the anxiety.

Many of us are excited. We’re rushing ahead. We’re talking about revolutions, massive transformation, how fast everything is changing. Internally we describe AI as an organizational initiative.“We’re rolling out AI”, “We’re upgrading our processes”, “We’re becoming more efficient”. It sounds like something coming top-down. Something the company is doing for itself, and possibly at the employees’ expense.

Add to this the constant stream of posts about “The latest amazing AI tool,” and the overwhelming number of tools in the market.

The combined effect? Confusion. A sense of being overwhelmed. A feeling that “everyone understands this except me.”

Many people feel this way. But for people with disAbilities, who already face insecurity, difficulty asking for help and fear of mistakes, this chaotic atmosphere is completely discouraging.

What happens when they overcome fear? Magic.

Here are two short stories from people I support.

• The first is an autistic software developer. Brilliant. Writes extraordinary code, but constantly struggled with documenting his algorithms in a clear and structured way, naming variables, structuring functions, making things understandable to others. For months he resisted trying AI. One day we tried something tiny together. Really tiny. Just asking ChatGPT to help organize one single idea. Not ten tools. Not a revolution. Just one experiment. It opened a door. Today, a few months later, his performance has improved dramatically. His manager micromanages him less, he’s more independent, more confident, more satisfied. And he still uses just one tool. That’s all it took.
  

• The second person is an employee with ADHD who struggled to write reports. He understood the content deeply but couldn’t formulate it clearly. Copilot helped him draft. It didn’t replace him. It didn’t “do the work for him”, they worked together, AI and him. Now everyone is happier with his performance, and his pace has improved.
  

These are small stories, but they taught me something big. When you explain slowly, without pressure, when you articulate the value clearly and let people experience how the tool helps, it works.

So what should DEI leaders do now?

No, the takeaway is not “stop being excited about AI”. That’s impossible and unnecessary. So what should we do?

• Understand their perspective. While we’re excited, they’re scared. And their fears make sense.

• Change how we talk about “organizational implementation”. The phrase sounds threatening. For some, it even sounds like a euphemism for “layoffs are coming”. Instead of presenting AI as a corporate initiative, talk about it as a personal tool. Something that belongs to each employee.

• Help people choose. Start with one tool, not ten. For many of us, the abundance of tools feels like a toy store. But do employees really need to hear about ten new tools this week? Start with one. A simple one. That solves one clear, concrete problem.

• Create a safe space for experimentation. People with disAbilities don’t need a 50-person training session. In many cases. They need someone sitting with them quietly, one-on-one, helping them test something small. No pressure. No expectations. No “everyone already knows this”.

• Train managers. Managers need to encourage, not push. Say “let’s try together”, not “everyone’s already using it”. Normalize not knowing. Normalize going slowly. Normalize mistakes.

• Don’t hesitate to ask for help. You weren’t born an AI expert. Bring someone in who can guide you and your teams in choosing the right tools. That’s not a weakness. That’s smart leadership.

• Treat this as a process, not an event. This doesn’t happen in one workshop. People need time, support, and reassurance that they're doing it right. Keep accompanying them after the first training.

This is our chance to get it right

AI can become the personal assistant that people with disAbilities have dreamed of; reducing their challenges, lowering emotional load, helping them show their strengths, and enabling greater independence and confidence.

But this will only happen if organizations guide the process with care.

As DEI leaders, we have both the tools and the responsibility to steer our organizations in the right direction.