Learning and AI - The Fears & Benefits

General confidence in AI is still mixed, according to three world studies.

• Around 45-54% of the public sees AI as a beneficial tool for the future.
• Concerns about AI misuse, ethical issues, and job displacement are significant, with 57-67% of respondents expressing such fears.

These statistics highlight where many are between hope and fear.? From a learning perspective, they also highlight the lag between understanding what is in the future and what is already here and available now.? To test our natural fears, we will need to experience AI in the learning space to determine the user’s reality. Going beyond our early experiences of just using platforms such as Chat GTP.

Here Right Now - Not In The Future

AI can significantly enhance and integrate learning by offering personalised, adaptive, and interactive learning experiences. In which mindset and behaviour change sticks, happens at speed and is scalable across global teams. Learning that happens while in the flow of work.

What can AI in learning currently offer that we don’t have to be too fearful about?

1. Personalised Learning Paths: AI can analyse learning styles, strengths, and weaknesses to create customised learning plans. This ensures that learners receive content that is tailored to their individual needs and pace - Within a group learning experience.
2. Adaptive Learning Platforms: These platforms adjust the difficulty of tasks based on the learner's performance. If a learner struggles with a concept, the system provides additional resources and exercises to help them improve.
3. Intelligent Tutoring Systems: AI-driven tutors provide one-on-one support, answer questions, and give feedback, simulating a human tutor’s role. These systems can offer real-time explanations and hints, helping learners understand complex concepts.? It is important to remember that human tutors not only monitor this activity but can also intervene and replace it when appropriate.
4. Content Recommendation: Based on learners’ past interactions and performance, AI can recommend supplementary materials such as videos, articles, and exercises that align with their learning objectives.
5. Automated Assessment and Feedback: AI can grade modules and provide immediate feedback. This not only saves time for HR departments but also helps learners to understand their mistakes and adjust them in real-time quickly. Creating self-directive learning.
6. Socialised Learning: When learners share in social groups to learn from each other, for intellectual and emotional support this helps the AI adjust its approach. It offers the overseeing humans the ability to also adjust content applicable to all and for individual requirements. Such as flagging up coaching needs that can be supported by specialist human coaches or if preferred, AI coaches.
7. Natural Language Processing (NLP) -? Not to be confused with neurolinguistic programming - Enables AI to understand and respond to learners’ queries in natural language. It can also assist in language learning by providing corrections, that can assist with conversational practice. E.g. Perfecting the language of empathy to a distressed customer.
8. Gamification and Emotional Health Checking: AI can create and manage motivational games that adapt to and reward a learner's level of progress as they assimilate and demonstrate what is being learned. Important for some learning styles that create fun, achievement and engagement along their learning journey. A big part of engagement depends on how a learner feels as they go through a learning experience. AI supports the tracking of a learner’s emotional health during the learning journey. It’s often the first thing it wants to understand. This is essential at the beginning of every human or AI blended facilitation. Understanding the emotional starting point is a prerequisite to support a healthy and successful learning journey.
9. Virtual Classrooms and Collaboration: AI can facilitate virtual classrooms where learners from different teams and global locations can interact and collaborate. Short burst experiences that are highly experiential. Moving away from the restrictive formula of standard training online and death by Zoom, Teams, etc.
10. Personal and Team Analytics: AI can analyse which learners and teams are integrating the learning as they journey through a topic. Providing real-time measurement and assessment of the return on investment. This is something super valuable for HR leads who can accurately justify their learning spend and demonstrate the financial gains of AI blended learning, compared to the traditional learning approach.
11. Self-Directive Optimisation: AI helps learners to drive self-directed learning. The most effective learning blended with AI happens in the flow of work and not in a traditional classroom or through online modules. Learners can learn essential skills in as little as 30 minutes of their focus during an entire week - as they go about their regular commitments.
12. Continuous Learning and Professional Development: AI supports continuous learning by recommending courses and training programs based on career goals and market trends. It helps professionals stay updated with the latest skills and knowledge in their field.

What’s important to remember?

By integrating these AI capabilities, alongside human overseeing and facilitation, we can create a more effective, inclusive, and engaging learning environment that caters to the diverse needs of all.

The thing to remember is that at every step of the way humans are involved. They are the overseers with the accountability to monitor and select the AI tools for the greater good of the individual, which supports the collective. For instance, a Global HR lead might realise that across their network various leadership groups are low on creating Psychological Safety in their teams.

Not every leader is at the same point of realisation and skill so they will need the flexibility of the AI learning blend described above. Rather than a tick box or sheep dip approach sometimes created via traditional learning.?

No matter where the leaders are in the organisation regarding location and time zones they can all participate in this blended human and AI approach. An entire organisation can upskill its entire population in an essential shift in mindset and behaviour, at speed, en masse and with learning that will stick.? An ethical scenario that dispels many of the current fears circulating. Many of these, simply exist because we are unfamiliar with what is possible and ultimately remain within our control and accountability.

If you have questions about AI-infused learning, how it can be made bespoke to your organisation’s learning and performance needs or would like a free demonstration, drop me a note.? Glenn