The impact of AI on learning designers and the learning industry

The impact of AI on learning designers and the learning industry

Leadership, Learning

Just recently, I finished a course on LinkedIn Learning on responsible AI (RAI), and the role it plays in the workplace. This triggered me to look further, so today I’m exploring some thoughts on the impact this could have on the market, on jobs, and the learning design industry.

We know the increasing integration of AI into the global economy is transforming the job market, creating new opportunities while simultaneously displacing some traditional roles.

This shift alone calls for upskilling and retraining the workforce, especially leaders.

This trend holds significant implications for the learning industry.

  • AI is driving change at an unprecedented pace: The use of generative AI has almost doubled in the last six months, with 75% of global knowledge workers currently using it, highlighting the urgency for employees to acquire or improve their AI skills.
  • Leaders recognise the importance of AI but struggle with implementation: While 79% of leaders believe AI adoption is crucial for competitiveness, 59% are concerned about quantifying AI’s productivity gains, leading to implementation delays.
  • AI is not just for technical roles: Non-technical professionals like project managers, architects, and administrative assistants are increasingly seeking AI skills. Myself included.

So, we have this discrepancy between leaders agreeing GenAI can increase both the quality and the speed of work, yet have no idea on how to measure the gains. Fearing being left behind, employees want to use AI at work, and they won’t wait on leaders or organisations to catch up.

  • Increased demand for AI training: With 76% of professionals believing AI skills are necessary for career competitiveness, the demand for training on AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude and Copilot will continue to rise. This presents a significant opportunity for learning designers to develop and deliver targeted training programs.
  • Shift in skills emphasis: AI is good at automating routine tasks, yet uniquely human skills like management, relationship building, negotiation, and critical thinking will become more valuable. Learning should adapt programs to focus on cultivating these essential skills.
  • Emergence of new roles: The rapid evolution of AI is leading to the creation of new roles like “Head of AI”, a position that has tripled in the past five years. (LinkedIn). Learning designers will play a crucial role in defining the skills and knowledge required for these emerging positions and designing training to prepare the workforce.

Looking ahead, I see a lot of work for learning to do. Think governance, compliance, fairness, digital resilience etc. Likely, another section in the Code of Conduct and Cyber Security by next year. That is, without mentioning any new training on tools, procedures, and likely roles that haven’t been invented yet.

What can you do to stay ahead?

  • Embrace experimentation: Actively explore different AI tools and applications. This hands-on experience will provide valuable insights for designing effective learning programs. I’ve been using pretty much every major large language model (LLM) since they became publicly available and find great value in doing so even when they fail in providing a decent answer—at times, miserably. But that’s the soul of learning, right?
  • Develop AI aptitude: Invest in upskilling yourself on AI tools and technologies. Leverage resources like LinkedIn Learning courses, which have seen a 160% increase in usage among non-technical professionals. As a learning experience designer (LXD), I find copywriting an unsung superpower in this field. To endure the time constraints and the drive for quality products, I have no trouble turning to AI and leveraging their capability to generate ideas in seconds. From there, I can tailor it to my audience and needs, making the content my own.
  • Focus on the “why” and “how”: Help learners understand the strategic value of AI for their roles and the organisation as a whole. Develop training that goes beyond basic functionality and focuses on practical application, demonstrating how AI can drive growth, manage costs, and improve customer value. For instance, many GenAI apps will own the rights to what they produce; other times, they will unitedly yield IP-protected content, as if they were just made for you. Note, there are great apps for plagiarism too.
  • Promote a culture of continuous learning: Encourage ongoing AI skill development within organisations. Design learning programs that are flexible and modular. With the speed of this technologies, I believe many of us will have to reinvent ourselves in shorter periods of time
  • Stay informed: Keep abreast of the latest trends and developments in the AI landscape.

Understanding the implications of AI’s impact on employment and proactively adapting to the evolving needs of the workforce will empower us to play a crucial role in ensuring individuals and organisations thrive in an AI-powered world.

References:

  • “AI at Work Is Here. Now Comes the Hard Part“, Microsoft, 8/05/2024
  • OECD AI Principles overview – Adopted in May 2019, they set standards for AI that are practical and flexible enough to stand the test of time.
  • The Reality of Responsible AI – Jeanne Kwong Bickford, Katharina Hefter, Steven Mills, and Tad Roselund, BCG
  • The AI Index report, 7th ed. 2024, Measuring trends in AI
  • Technology Trust Ethics Preparing the workforce for ethical, responsible, and trustworthy AI: C-suite perspectives (Deloitte)
  • Cisco Principles for Responsible Artificial Intelligence
  • McKinsey Quantum Black AI: Responsible AI (RAI) Principles
  • KPMG Trusted AI
  • IBM: What is AI governance?
VR-based training for leaders

VR-based training for leaders

3D, Leadership, Learning

Last week, I was fortunate enough to be part of an innovative leadership training session on coaching, leveraging the power of VR technology.

Immersive experiences allow participants to practice real-world scenarios in a safe, controlled environment. By now, you have probably seen many studies showing (eg. PwC, 2020) that VR-based learning can increase retention rates and confidence to apply the skills learned immensely (275%), 4x faster than traditional methods.

What struck me was, in another job, I ran coaching workshops with group discussions and activities, yet this time it was quite different seeing a room full of leaders, each immersed in their own VR coaching simulation. After their personal VR experiences, the facilitator brought the group together to share insights and strategies, an interesting blend of individual exploration and collective learning.

AI-generated concept art. Still, not too far from what we had that day
AI-generated concept art. Still, not too far from what we had that day.

Positive feedback reinforces the potential of VR in leadership development.

I was very grateful for the opportunity to be part of this training. Witnessing leaders enthusiastically engage with a virtual ‘coachee’ and navigate non-linear conversations was truly inspiring. In 2018, I proposed a similar idea to my previous team, but it was deemed too complex and resource-intensive. Fast forward to today, and it’s incredible to see how far we’ve come!

As we embrace this ever-evolving tech, I’m excited about the future of learning and development.

#VRTraining #LeadershipDevelopment #FutureOfLearning #InnovativeHR #TechInLearning

Is training the answer?

Is training the answer?

Learning

Thinking more about this idea of real benefit, lately, this story came to mind.

Once upon a time, in a faraway forest*, a Tree from the enchanted forest asked the tiger Laohu to put together a training to teach the elves how to properly log their timesheets. When he asked what for, she explained they were being naughty and “gaming the system”, putting down more time than they actually worked. ‘If you say they’re being naughty’, Laohu asks, ‘it means they know they’re not supposed to do this, right?’ She agrees. ‘And if they’re knowledgeable enough to game the system, it’s not like they don’t know how to do it properly, so it’s not a skill issue. Quite the opposite, they learned it so well, they can now bend the rules, correct?’ The Tree agrees again and says, ‘some managers will even look the other way to keep the site out of trouble and the numbers looking good’.

Laohu let the information sink in for a moment and, after careful consideration, declares: ‘Training is not the answer’. From the top of her age, the elegant oak stares at him in disbe-leaf. He continues, ‘I can do it if that is what you really want, yet this will not solve the problem’. It took him some explaining but, eventually, she agreed. Together, they saved the forest hundreds of thousands of pine coins, and everyone lived happily ever after. Or at least until the next revision cycle of the available training.

(*Any similarities are mere coincidences; no elf was harmed during the production of this story)

Using motion capture in Blender

Using motion capture in Blender

3D, Character Development, Learning

In the e-learning space, one of the things that I really enjoy is being able to work with characters. Luckily, video-based character-led training is a popular choice, so I get to put this old passion to good use.

Considering production time (and cost) can be a deal-breaker for choosing 3D animation as an option, I’m always on the look for better ways to accelerate the process. Motion capture, often referred to as mocap, is a good example. After a long time trying to figure out a way to use it, without much hassle, I finally got it to work. This is my test animation. Ahmed here is doing his happy dance, celebrating our new workflow, for those times when mocap can save you hours of animation work. Although I enjoy animating, good use of time is still a key component of any successful project.

And that is Sissy, an SIS expert that will provide the intelligence team with invaluable spatial information. She agrees mocap is very cool and couldn’t help doing her happy dance too.

Character animator and other solutions

Character animator and other solutions

3D, Character Development, Learning, Video

While trying to figure out a way to meet the tight deadlines for the training courses we have on, after a bit of research, I’ve started testing the lip sync features of Character Animator, one of the newish apps Adobe has made available through CC. Turns out, it works like magic, the team really liked the results and was happy to add it to the workflow.

If anything, perhaps not as cool as the actual 3D mouths, in my view, but it’s a way faster process and will save us loads of time (equals budget). Pretty decent compromise to get the issue solved and the project delivered on time.