AI is one of the most significant business forces today, particularly generative AI (GenAI). But an IBM report shows that fewer than one in three CEOs have assessed the potential impact of GenAI on their workforce before using it.
You can’t let buzzwords drive the priorities without assessing the need or defining the requirements. HR and learning functions need to position themselves to play a pivotal role in implementing an organization’s AI strategy to make sure it’s being used to serve and support the evolving workforce.
Don’t ask yourself: how do we use Generative AI? Instead: why would we use Generative AI? If you don’t understand the problems you’re solving for, you’ll fall into the trap of using AI to scale what hasn’t worked before.
But with a thoughtful approach, a clear roadmap and the right AI-powered LMS, AI is a tool you can use to build a more skilled, engaged, and adaptable workforce, which positively impacts business performance.
AI in learning development
In the last year GenAI has shaken the world. The conversations within L&D teams have quickly gone from: Will AI take my job? How can it be applied? To: How can I leverage it to make my business more competitive? What are the core skills we need to train to scale it?
The workplace is undergoing rapid change, and we’re all at an inflection point; either actively get involved and build your digital literacy, or you’re at risk of being left behind. Technological advancements mean you can do new things, in new ways to help your learners. The world is changing around you and you need to be ready for it.
To do this, L&D teams need basic knowledge and understanding to get started. Staying ahead in your career isn’t about knowing all the answers now, but it is about making sure you’re always on the lookout for them. And organizations need to find answers to some heavy questions, like how do we create organizational change that embraces people and AI? And who should be driving this change?
Cross collaboration is critical, but why shouldn’t HR and learning functions be in the driving seat? You’re already primed to consider the impact of business decisions on the workforce, you’re advocates for your learners, and you’re focused on how to deliver success for key outcomes. And all the teams we know already thrive on creating new learning experiences and efficiencies, which are the skills needed to make real change, and ensure AI in learning is a success for all.
How is AI used in learning and development?
As we’ve established, you can't sit on the sidelines of AI anymore and continue to be effective in your role. So, what can GenAI do? At the current pace of evolution, you’ll probably get a different answer to that question every month. But your best bet is to start with the problem, not the technology.
If your learning programs today aren't based on the right principles, or you haven’t incorporated great design thinking, adding AI to the mix will be like adding fuel to the fire. Make sure you accelerate the solution rather than scale the problem.
GenAI is a tool for efficiency, effectiveness, productivity and personalization. Looking at it through this lens, think about the types of problems that you could use it to solve. Below are a few examples, and further on we dive a little deeper into the areas of research, content creation, and learning path development.
Getting started: The first draft is the hardest
You’ve probably seen the impressive, and scarily realistic, capabilities of GenAI by now (we’re suckers for the cute animal videos created by Open AI Sora) but realistically, this type of output won’t be used by, or be necessary for, most organizations. A more relevant use case is assisted research.
Ever had to build a course from scratch, even though you aren’t an expert in it? Needed to extract knowledge from a subject matter expert for an outline, but you don’t know what to ask them? GenAI is a great tool to gather basic or background information about a topic. You can use it to summarize a subject or recommend further reading, develop approaches to a topic or generate ideas.
Start with a broad question like: “Can you provide an overview of [topic]?”
Then branch out with: “What are the key concepts of [topic]?”, “Can you give me background context on [topic]?”, “Have there been any recent developments in [topic]?” or “What are the key trends when it comes to [topic]?”.
You can even upload documents or webinar transcripts and ask: “Can you summarize this content and provide me with 5 key insights?”. Word of caution don’t upload anything that isn’t publicly available on the internet already.
This endeavor isn’t foolproof, however. You can’t guarantee that the information provided is accurate, or even true one hundred percent of the time. But have you ever had bad advice from a colleague that you followed blindly? Or referenced facts found on Wikipedia without verifying them from another source? The same is true when you’re working with GenAI. Be aware; embrace the good, sidestep the bad and verify.
https://www.absorblms.com/blog/ai-learning-development-for-beginners
Will L&D professionals be replaced by AI?
No matter the technological advances we’re seeing, expertise and experience can’t be underestimated in L&D. Empathy, emotional intelligence, and nuance are uniquely human skills. To move away from conversations around how AI will replace L&D roles, you need to shine a light on how AI can assist L&D teams to continue providing learner-centric experiences. To take the lead in this area, you need to be comfortable with emerging technologies and continue to be an expert in people. Your ability to have and nurture emotional intelligence is the key to building resilience and remaining relevant. The more we embrace technology, particularly AI, the greater role emotional intelligence, deep expertise and human-in-the-loop systems will play.
Companies using AI in training and development
AI is here to facilitate and expedite learning but teams need to make sure that they are embracing the technology and aren’t left behind. 80% of respondents in the State of learning survey said they believe AI is important in learning strategies, but only 25% are factoring it in routinely. To get AI use embedded in learning, it’s crucial for employees to have a basic understanding of how AI works and its potential applications in their work environment. One company that’s doing just that is Atlassian.
Atlassian wanted their internal teams to leverage AI more in their day to day, so they developed course in their LMs with hands-on learning opportunities and ongoing assessments of training outcomes. Here are some of their key results:
- Participants were 19% more likely to use AI tools daily after completing the course
- Effectiveness score of AI prompts increased by 20% after completing the course
- Freed up an estimated 200 business hours annually for customer calls, account strategizing and career development by reinvesting time saved through AI tool usage.
See how Atlassian transformed its salesforce productivity and boosted AI adoption.
How will AI impact L&D?
While there are risks to be navigated and mitigated, and a lot of change management will be needed organization wide, it’s also a time for excitement. There’s no L&D team today that would turn down additional headcount, but some teams are reticent to use technology that could help them improve efficiency, increase their and their learners’ effectiveness and productivity, while scaling personalization. But with the right approach AI tools can be used as an intern for storyboarding, data analysis, translations, you name it.
No matter the developments that come along, the people who will be really successful in the next five years are those that are the pilots of AI. It’s how you’ll win in your career personally, and for the business. So, approach it with a growth mindset.
Download this resource where we cover:
- AI terms for Learning and Development (L&D) teams
- How to use GenAI to solve learning problems
- The value of human expertise
- Questions to ask yourself before implementing AI, plus worksheets to help guide you
