You can’t open a news feed, newspaper or magazine without seeing ChatGPT discussed, reviled, lauded or feared. As a person whose currency is words in the form of product ideas, business analysis, innovative concepts and learning strategies, I was very curious to see how ChatGPT might be impacting learning development in the coming year. ChatGPT has already been used to create movie scripts, music videos, novels written in the style of our favorite authors, research papers and test exams. It certainly won’t be long until others like me begin to use the tool to create learning experiences.
Full transcript of my interview with ChatGPT can be found below
The immediate implications are similar to what musicians have seen with ProTools and doctors have experienced with WebMD. ProTools allows anyone to make studio quality music. Not necessarily good music, but studio quality. This has caused a glut of new music to appear, pushing the perceived value of content towards zero while adding to the value of curation, critics and marketers. WebMD democratizes information creating challenges to a doctor’s expertise. WebMD makes every patient feel as if they know as much as their physician about diagnosis and treatment. Both of these dynamics will be on display for all domains that traffic in content.
For L&D this means that the amplification of the pre-existing perception of business leaders that they know what learning they need combined with SME’s ability to create pro “quality” learning via a few prompts will exacerbate the internal challenges faced by L&D organizations.
Overall, I find GPT to be a game changer when it comes to my personal workflow. It has allowed me to move rapidly from idea to strawman as well as providing me with solid documentation of my journeys down various rabbit holes. What was formerly a simple sketch and a handful of thoughts in a notebook is now instantly transformed into shareable, testable, and even monetizable ideas. I am currently experimenting with ChatGPT as an assistant to my learning design process. More on that in the coming days.
With all this potential and buzz I thought it would be fun to ask ChatGPT what its thoughts were on learning development. Below are some highlights.
The similarities between how AI and employees learn
“AI models are able to learn through self-directed experimentation and exploration, and employees can also benefit from being given the freedom and resources to take a self-directed approach to learning.”
The use of learning in games
“Players reflect on their experiences and decisions, analyzing what worked well and what didn’t. They might compare their performance to others, read game guides, or use trial and error to understand the game mechanics better.”
The value of DE&I
“…diversity can also lead to a deeper understanding of the topic being studied and a more meaningful learning experience.”
Which “Friends” character would L&D be
“Workforce Development could be seen as Ross…”
How can we use AI? How important is L&D? Are you coming for our jobs? full transcript below
Let’s be honest. The typical job description role for a learning and development pro contains a number of bullet points that are likely to be replaced by AI in the coming years. L&D, like all workers, needs to take a hard look at what they do that adds differentiated value and quickly turn its focus away from the rest. I have written about the power of range before. This power is magnified by AI. As an industry, our Canva and Articulate skills are going to mean little in a world powered by AI created learning experiences. Our curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking skills will mean much more.
Please enjoy my conversation on L&D with ChatGPT. – j.
Running Training Like A Business 2.0 