Five Insights on the Future of L&D in the Age of AI

As part of our AI-focused invite-only community for L&D leaders (apply here), we held a roundtable last week featuring training leaders from many leading Fortune 1000 and mid-size companies. Here are five key takeaways!

#1 Integration Over Replacement

“It's not about replacing, it's about how we use AI in the best way possible."

There was a consistent theme of ‘Integration Over Replacement’ - that AI isn't here to replace us but to augment our capabilities. It's about partnering with AI to make learning more engaging and effective.

This theme is consistent with our own findings that 75% of L&D professionals expect their roles to transform significantly in the next 3-5 years. And just 8% feel their job security will be threatened.

#2 AI Can’t Grasp Human Subtleties

"It doesn't bring the human nuances that everybody in this room knows we need ..."

While AI can process and analyze data with incredible efficiency, it lacks the ability to grasp the subtle, complex human elements that are essential in crafting truly engaging and effective educational experiences.

This echoes one of the quotes from our report on how AI will transform existing roles:

"Overall, I doubt it’s going to replace us – it’s a lot of heavy lifting on the soft skills part: planning, communication and clarity of goals, negotiation, etc., that just won’t be easy to be replaced by AI."

#3 AI Should Be Used Beyond Content Development

AI should be used not just for creating content but for intelligently analyzing learning requirements and customizing materials to meet the specific needs of learners. Content Development has been just the tipping point of AI usage. Other parts of L&D are lagging behind in their usage of AI as shown by the graph below.

I expect that we will see a lot more usage in the next 12 months identifying skills gaps and suggesting training content to consume, for instance, as well as personalized learning paths.

#4 Budgets Are Expanding For Many AI Tools

“We've shifted tools that we're using to more AI centric tools…So we've actually added to our budget and replaced tools that don't have AI in them."

This shift to more AI-heavy tools highlights a growing trend where organizations are not only incorporating more AI tools into their workflows but are also reallocating and increasing their budgets to leverage AI's capabilities for more efficient learning solutions. Tools that don't move quickly to integrate AI throughout their workflows will get phased out.

#5 L&D Teams Will Require More Analytical Skills

“Where we see more needs is around analysis and reporting...L&D teams need to learn how to output more than just content.”

Forward-thinking teams are adding analytical skills, particularly in business intelligence - such skills will be increasingly important to enable L&D teams not only to create content but also to analyze and adapt learning solutions based on measurable outcomes. These teams will no doubt become adept at using AI to aid in their analysis and reporting!

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Hope you enjoyed these five takeaways on the Future of L&D in the age of AI.

If you are looking to learn more about how AI will affect you, your team, and your work in Learning & Development, then you should apply to join the Learnexus Community (LHQ).

It's focused on the intersection of AI and L&D; we host weekly roundtables and workshops, share proprietary data & reports, and you can meet other leaders leveraging AI in their work. Plus, it's free.