Some people call this artificial intelligence, but the reality is this technology will enhance us. So instead of artificial intelligence, I think well augment our intelligence.

Ginni Rometty, former chairman and CEO of IBM

Imagine if you could learn anything, at any time, with speed. Thats the utopia that artificial intelligence could promise us. Our capabilities to learn could become limitless with AI enhancing our ability to consume information, discover new things and explore alternative career paths.

This isnt something well do far off in the future, its happening right now in some professions. In law, for example, AI is being used to sift through mounds of legal paperwork and data in minutes. In health care, AI has been found to detect some cancers with more accuracy than human doctors. It promises to be as revolutionary in the learning and development industry.

First, generative AI (as weve seen with ChatGPT and MidJourney) can help L&D teams to create content with just a few prompts and clicks. Of course, quality control is essential here to ensure what youre creating is actually valuable and skill-building. But given that creating content for online learning can take up to 155 hours, the time savings of using generative AI cannot be overlooked.

Other forms of AI, like recommendation engines, will be able to suggest L&D content to individuals based on their existing skills, skills gaps (identified through their career goals or business needs), learning preferences, role and interests. With AI, learning will become more relevant and tailored to each person, which also levels the playing field for those from non-traditional academic backgrounds, neurodiverse employees and those who havent had time or access to traditional learning opportunities.

By feeding an AI tool with data on an individual, the algorithm can sift through all of the L&D content available in your organization and show them the best opportunities for their needs. That might be something highly visual for someone who identifies as a visual learner, or it might be consumed on the go by others who are often commuting.

People may even be able to request learning content as and when they need it. For instance, a driver with a spare half hour waiting for a delivery will be able to ask the AI tool for a module they can consume in their truck. In this way, people are continuously engaged and challenged, even during idle moments.

This is the utopian ideal of learning in the flow of work where relevant content is delivered to all workers, in their moment of need, to build critical skills they need to succeed and remain employable in the future.

In some ways, AI could also become a personal career coach for every worker. Something really quite elite, coaching, may become as common in the future as WhatsApp. Similarly, generative AI can be used to guide and facilitate learning, including prompting employees to engage with a new relevant opportunity, or answering their questions about what to learn next.

Harvard University has been experimenting with a form of this AI in its Computer Science 50 course. The AI model helps students with real-time feedback, guiding them to solutions for their questions and troubleshooting. With AI augmenting our learning, we can be inspired to learn things we never considered before.

So far, weve covered how current forms of AI will make learning faster, more accessible and personalized. This will ultimately make it more likely that humans will want to continuously engage with learning that can only be a good thing when you consider the dwindling half-life of skills and chronic skills shortages that all organizations are grappling with.

Simply put, without a well-embedded practice of lifelong learning in your organization, your workforce skills wont keep up with the changing skills needs created by AI and other emerging technologies. Consider how quickly ChatGPT appeared and disrupted entire industries. As AI advances, expect to see more roles and industries upturned by super-powered apps right, left and center.

But, its as AI advances that the applications for L&D teams get really exciting. What were seeing today is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of AIs capabilities. Its limited to a narrow scope of activities, like generating writing from pre-existing content or identifying objects in an image based on thousands of hours of training the computer to do that task. Were moving closer to general AI, where software mimics a humans ability to do many different tasks and figure out what to do in novel situations. Imagine what a general AI can do for L&D. Plus, consider how it will change work as a whole and therefore the skills mix needed in your organization.

Of course, you cannot mention AI without bringing up some of the concerns surrounding the technology. Skills data, for example, needs to be used for the benefit of individuals and any collection and analysis needs to respect their privacy. Collecting a wide range of data is also needed to prevent biases and human oversight will always be required to ensure an AIs recommendations are fair and equal.

As we move forward, we will learn and benefit from AI augmenting our work, including the pitfalls. Were all on the learning curve right now and sharing our experiences, successes and concerns will help society embrace and partner with AI correctly.

People will undoubtedly be working alongside machines in all departments, so skills like teamwork and collaboration will take on a new meaning. Working with other humans is one ability, but combining this with a machine, even the basic models we have today, is a whole different story. We cannot yet predict what skills will be needed to work alongside our AI colleagues, so being agile in your approach to analyzing your skills mix, building skills and deploying them in your organization will be critical. In uncertainty, its best to remain flexible in your thinking, strategy and infrastructure.

We are living in an era where AI is involved in nearly everything we do. As the frontrunners of change, learning must embrace and understand AI, including how to use it to improve L&D and how it changes the skills needed by your business. There is so much that current AI models can do today for L&D, but also innovative applications promised in the near future. Its a fast-moving space, so being open to change and keeping up with developments will put you in a strong position to navigate the next chapter of AIs revolution.

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