It seems like such a simple selection, after all, in the business/corporate, association, education, and other segments that AI is taking it by storm.
Companies are training their employees to use AI, with Augmentation as the essential; on the tech side, automation is the other form, being used to.
I think of augmentation as a co-worker – and it aligns with what others see it as.
Automation is self-explanatory.
What, though, is it from a learning/training standpoint with your employees?
Think about that for a bit of time – more than 10 seconds.
A co-worker – eliminates repetitive tasks (as just one example) is understandable, and can be effective.
However, how do you use the AI options for your learners?
If it is AI literacy, which requires updates on new terms they might come across or will – and those overseeing something knowing those terms, but more than others, requires a duality approach.
I wouldn’t do either without a learning system.
Because ILT for AI usage shouldn’t exceed 12 people per session (the most effective way for tech training in ILT).
But the above use case doesn’t always get to the learning system level – even with the content to effectively and efficiently train your learners, tapping into an AI assistant.
Here is what I am seeing with AI in the learning system space (regardless of types)
“Fast. Fast. Fast” (vendor at DevLearn on what people want)
From the administration standpoint, the whole notion and understanding of learning and training (and by most considered differently, not one and the same) – isn’t learning – it is, in theory, optimization and speed.
Even if the person overseeing L&D, Training, or say HR, and the system itself – say department, folks nowadays believe or ideally want a system to do their job for them.
Ponder that.
If your L&D department is gutted, and the system switches over to HRIS, will they have the time to do their job and tasks, along with knowledge, along with an extra load of something unfamiliar?
What about a system going to marketing – for external. How many have a background in learning or training?
Fast. Fast. Fast.
There is zero learning here – ZERO.
And I’m not referring to the departments the system is in; I’m referring to the administrator.
The whole goal of an administrator is clearly to run the system; however, it is also to learn.
Way too many systems have ignored that – and that isn’t about them having access to the learner side, and taking content.
I’m referring to the knowledge and learning that they can acquire as a result of the system.
There is a wealth of skills available on the administrative side that can be leveraged at another job, whether at your place of business or elsewhere.
Systems, though, ignore that aspect.
Fast. Fast. Fast.
Need to create content? Zoom.
Need to create an assessment or quiz? Type and Zip.
Need to assign learning paths and skills to learners? Maybe a quick prompt, or a setup of automation, and off to the races.
Repetitive tasks: Simplify, Speed, and hope for efficiency.
I’m okay with the latter, heck, a constant gripe if you will, is how long it takes, and speed to deliver what is needed – the speed being crucial here.
On the content side, type in the AI Assistant what you want, using prompts, and off you go.
Perhaps, if you are lucky, you will get a system that offers AI image generation, Voice-over Audio, Native Translation (becoming more common), text mood (not common across the space), and additional features.
Pick and go.
Maybe you get a way to add images and videos, whether via YouTube or, if it is rare, to integrate video bytes with the content within the content creator itself within the system.
Oh, the WYSIWYG – that text window where you can edit, add your own images, and make changes.
The edit is common.
Then you may see, before you start, the option to build the course yourself, OR allow AI to do it for you.
Suppose you are one of the elite few who have a system that allows you to select whether AI will do each section, chapter, page, or asset (slide to AI and it goes). This is really rare.
Fast. Fast. Fast.
The AI Assistant
Whether the vendor calls it by another name – let’s say Answer Engine or some other vernacular – it is to increase efficiency (again, in theory, applicable; there are other variables involved at that moment in time), productivity, and maybe help for the administrator.
Type in text on how to do something, and the Assistant presents it – most of the time in text; perhaps with sources (folks rarely click on them), and then a rarity of “Show Me, Tell Me, Let Me do it,” – which is the most effective way for adults to learn.
Folks want to go where the action is, not read about it.
That right there is learning on the system, and different capabilities – data shows that Admins as a whole use less than 20 percent of the entire system’s functionalities – again, admin side.
Think of the skills they are going to learn.
- AI Prompting – Moving from ambiguous to specific – this is going to be a crucial skill with AI
- AI Literacy – Depending on the system
- Content development – at the basics of structure – type in an assistant on how to create a course – and assuming the vendor’s system scans the net – the output is right there (is it accurate? well, it requires the admin to click the source to validate). If within the system itself, it depends on the vendor showing/explaining how to do it (good luck with the vendors going the extra step), or that someone – maybe your previous team member creates such a document, uploads it, and now you have access.
- Understanding e-commerce (if you are using the system), or business development for those around customer training.
- Mark-ups and pricing – always relevant if you will sell content, products, whatever – if you do not know the profit margin and how to use markups, your sales will not be as strong, and you may be bleeding (in the red). Business skills here – that a lot of people have no idea – but you will
- Management – You can learn more about managing, and you are actually doing it
There is a lot to present here – all right there in that system – dependent on the system – all giving folks on the admin side skill sets they can use, regardless of the impact of AI in years to come.
Automation
It’s already here in the learning system space, content development/third-party authoring tools, video creators, voice options, templates, practice labs, and heck, you name it for learning/training, and likely there is a tool that can output it.
Fast. Fast. Fast.
Are you actually learning something beyond what you are adding to achieve the outcome?
Could you train someone who knows nothing about the product? Can you transfer that information you gained into another product/platform that isn’t that exact one?
All I saw at DevLearn and what I have been seeing – with minor exceptions (including my Learning Tech Product of the Year), across the industry – is all around automation.
Yes, there are parts of augmentation there – at least the option – I mean, you are having to add prompting text, and you need to pick options, edit, and then output.
All augmentation.
Learning though?
What exactly are you learning? How can you explain it so you want to return and do so because of learning?
Learner Side
Heavily around Automation with Augmentation – co-worker capabilities if your co-worker is a person who is handed stuff to do, over and over again.
Augmentation if the co-worker is onboarding you, or providing OJT.
A combo of the knowledge output – utilized in different ways.
Agentic Agents – They are being hyped as the best form of AI. Right?
It depends – on your goals.
Agentic lacks human reasoning (essential for learning/training).
It lacks empathy, emotion, intrinsic motivation, to name just a few.
With the emotion side, what you get from Agentic is akin to lacking empathy or false empathy.
Hence the relevance of need for deep thinking in every scenario.
I can provide you or inquire thought proviking questions to get you to analyze and formulate a response to the question or series of questions and to probe further.
Suffer from imposter syndrome in the workplace?
Why?
And then based on the response continue to dive.
Lastly or at some point – I (name of the assistant or agent) have created a real world scenario where you can practice what we discussed today. Would you like me to add it to your learning path – where you can access it at any time?
Would you prefer we try it out now (remember I will be here to guide you and blah blah, if you need)?
Then explain the scenario – that the learner is going in. There action(s) will cause another action within the scenario – it takes adaptive learning into the way it should be with Agentic AI playing the role it can, and forcing – yes, forcing the learner to think.
One area to recognize on a side bar is that if your goal of the agentic AI agent(s) to do a specific task or tasks for whoever – it is still heavy on automation with a slight augumentation.
Bottom Line
What’s the end game?
Super Assistant or Learning Passenger?
Or both, a passenger who gives outstanding directions, loves to talk, and asks “are we there yet? are we there yet?”
Can automation and augumentation work hand in hand to empower people to learn – on the learner side in a meaningful, real-life manner that adapts to them, on an on-going basis – using and building upon the ongoing continuous learning cycle?
The answer is yes.
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