Beyond learning content – the AI penny that finally dropped

In light of the recently released Chinese chatbot DeepSeek, and the subsequent US tech market sell-off, Fosway analysts look at the bigger picture for heads of learning.

DeepSeek – the new contender

AI is again stealing the headlines, with stock markets in a spin at what some are calling a ‘Sputnik moment’. With AI innovation bursting into its next phase, the thoughts of how AI will transform work again takes on new dimensions. Cheaper tech means fewer barriers to entry, and the opportunities for experimentation and adoption potentially become open to more and more. It’s exciting times, or scary times, depending on how you like to take your adrenaline.

One of the casualties of DeepSeek taking all the headlines was the excitement about AI Operator. Washed away with the Deepseek Tsunami. But, the potential of AI to support learners as they work through elearning content and help users through all those learning content assessments and two-dimensional role plays hasn’t gone away. And the question of ‘if the AI is supporting learner that much, is the learner really learning?’, is a real conundrum. What does testing mean when people used AI to get the answers right?

Is learning transformation the actual game changer?

For some this has led to a Damascene moment. What is the future of training? Their answer: move training from formal content consumption to transformation. Put even more simply, move from ‘knowing’ to ‘doing’.

The irony is that organisational learning has always been about that. Knowledge transfer was always the low hanging fruit, but always the least tasty and least valuable. It has dominated the groupthink of digital learning solutions and learning systems for over three decades. Content, content, content.

When in fact it’s learning cycles that create measurable, sustained outcomes and transfer expertise into the workplace (think PLASMA learning) that are what training has always been about. The prize has never been about curation and content suites and managing learning content. It’s always really been about enabling the relationships and experiences that take people to the next levels of success. That AI is disrupting learning content like never before is going to put more and more digital learning and elearning producers into more and more of a spin. Old positions are being undermined.

How to cope with the learning changes that AI will bring about

So, don’t be surprised if we see more and more moments of truth about the future of training and learning being about transformation – especially from those who sell or sold learning content and the entire ecosystem that enables that. Practice and rehearsal, problem solving, action learning, and supporting people through some of the huge changes that are coming to us all will require a fresh approach to how we power people through the learning cycles that get them ready for the next phase of work.

To find out more about how the digital learning landscape is changing, explore Digital Learning Realities 2024. Get the full insight and discover the most common challenges experienced by today’s learning leaders by downloading all five infographics.

What should you do next?

• How will the new learning technology landscape be affected by AI? Take part in Fosway’s strategic AI project for 2025: ‘AI in Learning’.
• Sign up to be part of Digital Learning Realities 2025 – ignore the hype and be part of the reality of modern digital learning. Share your experiences in this year’s research cycle here.

Other recommended reading

• Ask the Analyst: Fosway 9-Grid™ report for Digital Learning. You’ve poured over the pivotal insights —now it’s time to hear from the lead analysts.
• The 2024 Fosway 9-Grid^TM for Learning Systems– full report which looks at market and solution trends in the world of learning systems.

For corporates looking for deeper insight on this and other similar topics, please consider joining our Fosway research network to get access to corporate roundtables, private 1-1 analyst time, benchmark reports and other analyst services or project support. Click here to find out more.

Please also visit the Fosway Knowledge Centre to check out other relevant Fosway research and insights, including filters for segment category, key topics, type of content and vendor-specific information.