USAA

Allison Sadler

As human capital professionals, we find ourselves in a new era where human-centered learning is at the intersection of technology and the consumption of knowledge. As I often say, we are in a time when humans are saturated with information and starved for insights. At this inflection point, we aim to balance tools that accelerate the learning process and provide surgically precise information that is tailored to learners’ knowledge gaps. Attaining this level of precision creates complexity and downstream implications for stakeholders in every facet of the organization. 

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes more widely available and tested for use in Learning Organizations, leaders must develop models that enhance and improve learning rather than detract from the experience.  Specifically, the lure of using AI to design training, deliver customized microlearning, or create knowledge checks for learning can sway learning professionals to deploy tools that are fast and inexpensive.  However, learning organizations must implement checks and balances that ensure the learner experience is relevant and ameliorated.   Here are the pitfalls that learning organizations can experience.

Managing the fragility of effective vs. efficient training is not a new problem for learning professionals. Tantamount to the challenges we all face today, our phones, televisions, and computers are all pushing information to us in a constant deluge. There is a premium for our cognitive attention. Leveraging the escape routes above can strategically overcome some of the challenges with AI. Here are the most anticipated strategic uses of AI that can ubiquitously transform how we engage learners in the art of knowledge acquisition. 

• Engaging learners with AI conversation simulations that help master the dialogue and process skills simultaneously.

• Creating AI assessments based on the content for more accurate checks of learning retention.

• Aggregating cohort-level data on learning checks in simulations for a bird ' s-eye view of individual and classroom gaps in knowledge transfer.

"Rather than leverage the technology blindly, learning organizations can anticipate the new possibilities of the technology and become the architects of the next generation of modern learning"

• Creating micro-learning content from existing curriculum to address the aforementioned gaps without the intervention of a learning professional.

• Creating new content using AI, bringing in a developer for review, and sequencing activities with lectures and curriculum.

• Scheduling training using an AI Bot that seeks the accurate amount of capacity in a learner’s calendar to take training.

• Automating learning intake requests and recommending learning solutions.

While many organizations are still vetting the infrastructure and security of AI within the firewall, learning professionals can begin to construct a strategy that is ‘just-in-time’ as the utility becomes available. Furthermore, learning teams can encourage designers and developers to become knowledgeable about the technology, prompts, and capabilities expected to be used by the learning strategy. Rather than leverage the technology blindly, learning organizations can anticipate the new possibilities of the technology and become the architects of the next generation of modern learning.