How AI Makes Training More Effective
Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is dramatically changing the way businesses operate, including Learning and Development (L&D). The Learning and Development industry currently has a global value of over $350 billion. In organizations that live in the cloud, with the speed of technological change, distributed operations, and the reduction of the ability to live part time, employees must constantly learn new skills. AI-enabled learning tools aim to address long-standing issues of inconsistency, ineffectiveness, and lack of measurable impact.
Personalized Learning Experiences
The traditional “one-size-fits-all” approach to training is no longer appropriate for a diverse workforce. AI can analyze a person’s skills, career aspirations, and learning styles to provide personalized coaching [1]. Such platforms can update content in real time and provide recommendations based on individual performance. The introduction of an AI-enabled platform by a public health agency has resulted in a 40% reduction in training time while providing relevant content to staff. Another study on multidisciplinary workers found that AI-powered training provided significant benefits in terms of efficiency and retention.
AI-enabled personalized learning is not limited to knowledge-based training. Walmart’s experience with an AI-powered immersion training module resulted in a 96% reduction in training time while increasing employee satisfaction by 30%. Such examples show that flexible training platforms powered by AI can provide significant benefits to an organization in line with individual needs and organizational goals.
“Platform engineering is not just about infrastructure; it is the connective tissue that aligns business goals with technology…we transform functionality from a bottleneck into a product that developers want to use,” said Segun Onibalusi, CEO of Detutu Media, highlighting the need for learning platforms that people enjoy using while meeting strategic goals. The same concept applies to AI-powered training: treat learning tools as products, integrate them with cloud-native workflows, and design them around User Experience.
Real-Time Guidance with AI Assistants
But AI doesn’t just suggest what to learn; and can provide students with real-time training. AI teaching assistants can answer questions and provide explanations to students. PwC is using ChatGPT Enterprise to create AI advisors that can provide feedback to employees on leadership and communication skills, thereby promoting career progression in those areas. AI can also help with collaboration tools to provide students with relevant policies and procedures in real time.
Focused Simulation of Hard and Soft Skills
The combination of AI and Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies bring training to life. For example, a virtual training program for Walmart associates puts an associate in a situation where their actions are monitored by AI technology. This helps achieve significant efficiency gains. Another example is provided by Accenture’s simulations that use AI to immerse managers in critical leadership situations and provide instant feedback through tone of voice, facial expressions, and decision-making skills.
In addition to Virtual Reality headsets, simulation platforms use behavioral intelligence to create realistic sales or customer service situations that resemble real life. They also use simulation to map training results to performance objectives in a cloud environment.
Learning Statistics, Skills Gap Detection, and ROI
The primary benefit of AI is that it helps measure and shape training. This is done by using AI-based analytics to track trends, find gaps, and fine-tune training programs. This helps demonstrate the ROI of training by relating it to organizational goals. Data analytics and AI analytics are increasingly being recognized as key influencers of ROI. A DataCamp survey of more than 500 business leaders revealed that only 20% of businesses are seeing a strong ROI on their AI investments.
This number is more than doubled for businesses with strong skills development programs. According to World Economic Form, the majority of workers are already using AI technology, and want support through training [2]. This is important because it is more expensive to hire a new employee compared to training an existing one.
Ethical Considerations and Inclusion
There are also ethical issues associated with the use of AI. For example, there are fears that while AI will help organizations to be more efficient, there are other issues that need to be addressed. According to the World Economic Forum, there are fears that adoption of productive AI technologies may be slow in some parts of the world. For example, it seems that people from richer and more educated countries have adopted this technology faster compared to others. Therefore, to avoid a situation where there is a double speed of employees, organizations will have to promote the use of this technology.
Looking Forward
For cloud professionals, AI-enabled learning tools provide an avenue for continuous and scalable employee development. Hyper-personalized content, real-time training, immersive simulation, and analytics provide ways to reduce training times, improve retention, and ensure alignment with business goals. Leadership is critical in ensuring learning platforms are integrated products, not isolated systems, and investing in AI literacy and behavior.
In the words of Segun Onibalusi, it is important to “align technology with business objectives.” With the thoughtful adoption of AI-enabled learning tools, cloud-based organizations can use the technology to turn employee training from a necessary evil to a business advantage.
