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Artificial Intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies are becoming increasingly important in our day-to-day lives, particularly in the workplace. Gartner predicts that by 2024 these technologies will replace almost 69% of the manager’s workload.

While AI has made headlines and raised concerns over job roles being delegated to machines and AI technology, these machines and algorithms are expected to create many more jobs than they replace in the coming years. Different sources claim different values, but they all concur that there will be much more to gain than there is to lose by embracing AI technology. The World Economic Forum (WEF) reported that 75 million jobs will be displaced by 2022, while 133 million new roles will be created with the growth of artificial intelligence in the next few years.

What is AI?

AI is short for Artificial Intelligence, and it is technology that enables a computer to behave in a more “human” way. AI technology takes the information from its surroundings (or external data) and learns to respond accordingly, in a way that would mimic a human’s. AI will learn from external data and will flexibly adapt to achieve specific goals and tasks.

AI devices are now found in many of our homes with the rise of home assistant devices including Alexa, Google Home, Siri and Cortana. From personalised recommendations on entertainment apps including Netflix or Amazon, patient diagnosis in healthcare, through to flight simulation and driverless cars, AI boasts an impressive array of beneficial uses already, and the future has much more in store.

AI can be a chatbot that pops up at the bottom of your website or social media page to guide your customers or prospects through the most effective support or sales process. AI could be a learning management system asking your employees if they need any help. 

We’re already using AI in business, whether you realise it or not. Spam filters, automated responders, sales and business forecasting, security surveillance and many, many more handy tools have been saving us time and effort with AI technology for many years. 

How is AI used in learning & development?

AI is already making a huge impact on Learning & Development (L&D). Training programs and learning curriculums are benefiting from the huge amount of data which is analysed to optimise things going forward.

As we live and work in an increasingly diverse society, a “one size fits all” solution to training is no longer good enough. In schools, the curriculum is designed to suit as many pupils as possible by targeting 80% of the middle. But pupils struggle to attain their full potential when in the top 10%, and those in the bottom 10% have difficulties following along. But with the introduction of AI, teachers are not necessarily replaced, but they are in a position to perform much better by offering personalised recommendations to each pupil. 

AI has already started to make it easier to personalise training content to suit individual needs.

What are the 7 benefits of AI in L&D?

Benefit 1.  Embrace learning styles and deliver better training

A person’s learning style will affect how well their learning journey goes. This may be influenced by their age, ethnicity, cultural background and many other factors. AI provides organisations with the ability to tailor learning and development programs to an individual’s preferred learning style. With AI optimised training, the learning experience will be more enjoyable for learners, and help with their knowledge retention. 

This offers several benefits to an organisation, as you’re more likely to retain staff, plus boost morale and job performance, which all undoubtedly affect the bottom line. 

What are the different learning styles?

There are 8 main learning styles, which are:

• Visual learners
• Aural learners
• Verbal learners
• Social learners
• Logical learners
• Physical and tactile learners
• Solitary learners
• Naturalist learners

Benefit 2. Conduct online assessments and adapt training accordingly

Tests, quizzes and assessments are an important and valuable part of learning, and e-learning in particular. Post-course assessments are often used to measure the effectiveness of the training course, but these assessments are often limited to a “one size fits all” approach. As with the course content, AI can also tailor the content of surveys and assessments to suit individual needs. The data that comes out of these surveys and quizzes can also be analysed to tailor future training course content to that individual. An individual’s life-long learning path can be designed and tailored around that person’s specific needs with the help of AI. 

Benefit 3. Accessible training for disabled learners

Talent shortages have a major effect on most organisations. Disabled people are an often overlooked pool of skilled talent. But AI and other emerging technologies are making work much more accessible for disabled employees. Closed captioning on videos, audio transcripts, screen readers and remote working environments are all tools that we now have available to us thanks to AI and technology, making the world of employment and training much more open and accessible to all.

Gartner estimates that organizations actively employing disabled people have 89% higher retention rates, a 72% increase in employee productivity and a 29% increase in profitability. 

In addition, Gartner said that by 2023, the number of disabled people in employment will triple, due to AI and emerging technologies reducing barriers to access.

Benefit 4. Make the learning process shorter and faster

AI can dramatically shorten the learning process by suggesting the specific modules your employee needs to improve their skills for the job they are doing. The system learns that person’s strengths, weaknesses and learning preferences, and will then suggest suitable training courses and modules for your employee.

Benefit 5. Enhance the training experience & improve soft skills

AI can improve the training experience for employees and provide valuable feedback on potential areas to improve.

You may be surprised to hear that AI can help improve your employees’ soft skills. Using tools such as speech-to-text, learners can receive useful feedback on their presentation performance, helping them to improve their pace of voice, number of hesitation words used, whether certain keywords were mentioned, and more. This can be combined with VR technologies, giving learners more insight into their own performance than ever before.

Benefit 6. Improve completion rates and absorption of training

Completion rates for e-learning/online training are low, and only 15% of people actually complete MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses).

However, as mentioned earlier, AI can provide the most relevant training content and adapt this content to the individual’s preferred learning styles. Naturally, this tailored course content results in more engagement, interaction and higher completion rates. 

Not only will employees complete the course, but they are more likely to have fully absorbed the content and can implement the learning in their job role.

Benefit 7. Job creation

All technology, including AI, needs skilled programmers and engineers to make it work. Machines and algorithms in the workplace are expected to create 133 million new roles by 2022. Artificial Intelligence programmers and engineers are already in demand as this technology keeps evolving, so it’s a brilliant area to move into if you’re looking for a future-proofed career that pays well.

Where to start learning AI?

You may find it useful to read our previous article “How AI can help your training and your business”.

The best way to learn about AI technology is to book onto a good quality training course. We’re always adding more to our selection but have a look at the AI training courses and Machine Learning training courses. It’s worth browsing these Machine Learning courses too. These are all available online, delivered live by an expert instructor and available all over the UK and Europe.

Go.Courses offers hundreds of different courses with our mission to bring you the world’s best IT and business skill courses. We want to save you time, hassle and money while providing you with the skills to be the best you can be.