By Scott Kupor, Director, U.S. Office of Personnel Management

September 12, 2025

Max Planck was a German physicist known for his groundbreaking work on quantum physics in the early twentieth century. However, it took nearly 20 years from the introduction of his quantum hypothesis in 1900 for other scientists to begin to accept his work. Planck’s theory was initially met with a lot of skepticism, as it fundamentally challenged existing, seemingly settled precepts of classical physics.

Reflecting on this pattern of resistance, Planck gave a lecture in 1947 where he said, “A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.” He later shortened this theory of science and technology adoption in his 1949 autobiography to the pithier, “Science advances one funeral at a time.”

Morbid, no doubt, but a well-articulated theory of the adoption of new technologies. The inventiveness of entrepreneurs has no bounds; rather, the pace at which we adopt new technology is often the limiter toward advancement.

Steve Jobs put it slightly differently in response to a reporter’s criticism of the new iPhone’s touchscreen keyboard at the 2007 launch of the iPhone. The reporter complained that he was having a difficult time typing on the touchscreen and much preferred the physical keyboards popularized at the time by the Blackberry mobile phones. In response to this complaint, Jobs quipped, “Your thumbs will learn.” A less morbid articulation of Planck’s warning – people often resist new technology because it challenges conventional norms to which they have been accustomed.

Today, with the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI), we are at one of those technology inflection points where it would be easy for us to embrace the status quo and resist technological change. It’s familiar, comfortable and, of course, what we are all used to. The status quo represents the present – we know what that entails and have lots of vested interests in maintaining the present.

In contrast, the future – AI – is unknown, scary, and, yes, sometimes hallucinatory. Adopting AI requires we change how we do things today, modestly at first, but potentially at an accelerating pace in the near future.

This, by the way, is why entrepreneurs are so often ridiculed – their ideas may at first seem silly or fringe – because, as my good friend and venture capitalist Mike Maples has written about, entrepreneurs live in the future. They envision a future state of what the world will look like, but most of us live in the present and have jobs, families, and interests we would like to remain intact. We don’t often willingly abandon the present for a future that is uncertain at best and frightening at worst.

But resisting the future won’t prevent it from happening. AI technology is advancing at an increasingly rapid pace and, given the investment being made in the area, seems unlikely to slow down. The question is no longer whether AI will be an important technology that permeates our work and personal lives, but rather whether we at the Office of Personnel Management will be laggards or leaders in incorporating it into our workplace.

I hope we will be leaders. I ask each of you to learn about AI, try it, think about a process in your daily work life that can be improved through the use of AI. Tinker with it and be open to change – it’s never easy, but the benefits of change will become clear, as will the consequences of failing to do so.

Trust me – your thumbs will learn.