Amidst the dynamic spectacle of VivaTech in Paris, where startups and tech giants alike unveil visions of AI-powered futures, a note of sober pragmatism emerges from the established world of enterprise. French IT consulting leader Capgemini, represented by its Group Chief Innovation Officer Pascal Brier, acknowledges the exhilarating potential of AI agents and automation tools but shifts the focus to a far more demanding challenge: making artificial intelligence work reliably and profitably “at scale.” Brier posits that while the technology is undeniably “redefining the wider technology landscape,” the initial excitement has led many businesses to underestimate the significant time, effort, and strategic investment required to truly understand, implement, and harvest tangible results from AI. Declaring 2026 as the company’s “year of truth” for AI, Capgemini underscores that the coming period must prove the technology can be scaled across entire organizations to deliver concrete value, warning that “not everybody will win with AI.” This statement frames the current era not as a guaranteed gold rush, but as a complex implementation phase separating speculative promise from sustainable business transformation.
A critical component of this scaling effort, according to Capgemini, is fostering what Brier terms “human-AI chemistry”—a foundation of trust between employees and the AI systems introduced into their workflows. This concept directly addresses the natural anxieties that accompany technological upheaval, particularly in light of Capgemini’s own announcement earlier this year of plans to cut up to 2,400 jobs in France. Brier is careful to dissociate these cuts directly from AI adoption, instead framing AI as a tool that redefines how work is done, not necessarily a force that simply eliminates who does it. He argues that fear is a natural part of the process when new technologies enter the workplace, but that this apprehension often transforms into excitement once workers experience how AI can augment their capabilities, reduce drudgery, and unlock new forms of creativity. “There is no way a technology can be successful if you don’t build that trust,” Brier asserts, emphasizing that successful integration is as much a cultural and human-centric initiative as it is a technical one. The goal is partnership, not replacement.
When the conversation turns to physical AI—the realm of robots and intelligent machines operating in the physical world—Brier outlines a cautious, regulated path forward. He advocates for rules that prioritize human safety above all, mandating clear emergency controls, such as immediate stop functions, to ensure harmonious coexistence in shared spaces like factories or warehouses. However, he is quick to temper expectations about the immediacy of this robotic future, noting that “nobody currently is running fleets of hundreds of robots.” Unlike the explosive, software-based arrival of generative AI, physical AI’s integration will be a slower evolution, constrained by hardware costs, safety certifications, and the complexities of deploying machines in unpredictable real-world environments. Therefore, Brier argues, regulation must be progressive and adaptive, developing in tandem with the technology itself to avoid stifling innovation while steadfastly protecting human workers. For the foreseeable future, he sees the most immediate and significant value deriving from “agentic AI”—software-based systems that autonomously execute tasks and reshape internal business operations.
Beyond implementation and trust, Capgemini highlights another strategic imperative: avoiding dangerous over-reliance on any single AI model or provider. Recent events, such as the U.S. government order that led Anthropic to suspend access to specific models, underscore the geopolitical and operational risks of vendor lock-in. Brier, however, cautions against a reactionary retreat into isolationism. “We don’t believe in total sovereignty, which would mean isolation,” he states, rejecting a Fortress Europe approach that would cut the continent off from global technological advances. Instead, he reframes sovereignty as a pragmatic issue of business continuity and risk management. With an estimated thousand models available on the market—spanning sizes, origins (European, U.S., Chinese), and licensing structures (open-source or proprietary)—companies have an unprecedented array of choices. The strategic objective, therefore, is to architect systems and workflows that are resilient and interoperable, ensuring an organization is never held hostage by one provider and “always have a plan B.”
This holistic view from Capgemini—encompassing scaled implementation, human-centric trust, measured adoption of physical AI, and strategic sovereignty—paints a picture of the AI journey as a marathon of deliberate integration, not a sprint to adoption. It is a call for corporate leaders to move beyond the demo-day fascination and invest in the less-glamorous foundations: change management programs that build employee trust, technical architectures that ensure flexibility and resilience, and pilot projects designed to prove return on investment at a departmental level before enterprise-wide rollout. The promise of AI is real, but its profit is not automatic. The “year of truth” in 2026 will judge companies not on their enthusiasm for the technology, but on their disciplined execution in weaving it securely, reliably, and trustworthily into the very fabric of their operations.
Ultimately, the discourse at VivaTech, tempered by insights from established integrators like Capgemini, reveals a maturation in the business conversation around AI. The focus is shifting from “what is possible” to “what is practical, profitable, and sustainable.” It acknowledges the human element as the critical catalyst for success and views geopolitical and market risks not as insurmountable barriers, but as factors to be engineered around with careful planning and diversified technology partnerships. The path forward, therefore, is one of balanced ambition: embracing transformative potential while methodically building the trust, infrastructure, and strategic safeguards that will allow organizations and their employees to thrive in a new, collaborative partnership with intelligent technology.
