How AI is Transforming the Innovation Landscape in Learning & Development

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Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are not just buzzwords anymore. As we speak, these transformative technologies are reshaping how we work, search, play, and learn. Successful AI adoption will help power us to become next-level professionals who automate and streamline repetitive tasks and optimize workflows to free up valuable time. We will use this time to create more innovative learning strategies, technology deliverables, and learning customizations. 

d’Vinci has been working hard to roll-out our AI point of view (POV) and integrate AI into many areas of our team and business. We’ve also established AI ambassadors within the company who are taking the lead on emerging technologies and helping to lead the way for the rest of us. Here is a summary of our insights to assist in your journey with AI and machine learning. We’ll continue to update this list as we explore and adopt new technologies.

AI and ML Tools are Transforming Learning & Development

Here are some ways AI & ML tools and technologies are making us more efficient and productive in L&D:  

Instructional Design/Writing: 

AI can help instructional design professionals and content writers deliver enhanced learning experiences by generating ideas for training course outlines, assist with brainstorming, and provide topical suggestions. AI tools help identify gaps in learning content, empowering instructional designers to bridge gaps by writing their own purpose-driven content. AI tools can provide content recommendations, generate summaries, and build quizzes based on existing content sources. Here are some AI tools d’Vinci instructional designers are currently evaluating and integrating:

• Chat GPT for Teams
  Using the latest publicly available ChatGPT version from Open AI, ChatGPT for Teams includes the ability to create custom versions of ChatGPT for specific use cases, departments, and proprietary datasets. And, it offers enhanced privacy and data protection, ensuring that conversations and data are confidential and securely managed within the team's environment. Your chats are not used to train the language model.
   
• Grammarly
  Grammarly is an AI tool focused on improving writing via working smarter with personalized AI guidance and text generation. It generates draft copy from prompts that can be adjusted for formality, tone, and length and ensures your output is highly readable and contains accurate spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
   
• HyperWrite
  Like Grammarly, HyperWrite supercharges the writing experience with platform and user-generated prompts and tools. It always provides multiple iterations of copy for consideration and is great for rewriting text for tone, style, or clarity, generating ideas, breaking through writer’s block, and. summarizing. 

Engaging eLearning Design

Machines can inspire human creativity and AI tools can boost creativity for eLearning design in exciting new ways. For designers, generative AI image processing can help create a variety of ideas and provide quick inspiration for new visual approaches. Visual style, character and background setting creation are now capable of being driven by AI. Here are some of the AI tools d’Vinci eLearning designers are currently evaluating and integrating:

• Adobe Generative Fill
  Generative Fill is a feature within Photoshop that can be used to add and remove content from images. It can be used to quickly fill, edit, or remove image elements while maintaining realism needed for high quality design work.
   
• Adobe Character Animator
  Character Animator is an AI-powered character animation feature that combines real-time live motion-capture with a multi-track recording system to control layered 2D puppets based on an illustration in Photoshop or Illustrator.
   
• Midjourney
  Midjourney, which is similar to Dalle-2, is a tool that provides text-to-picture generative AI in multiple styles.
   

AI Voice and Characters: 

AI driven voice and character generation are enabling L&D professionals to explore new possibilities and create audio content more quickly and efficiently. Here are some of the AI tools d’Vinci character designers are currently evaluating and integrating:

• Descript
  Descript is a comprehensive AI tool used to write, transcribe, edit, and share videos and podcasts. Editing video in Descript is just as easy as creating a text document or a presentation slide.
   
• MurfAI
  Murf AI is a versatile AI-driven text-to-speech voiceover generator.
   
• Wellsaid Voice AI
  WellSaid Labs tools can clone a voice and create a custom text-to-speech voice avatar for your brand. The tools can build an AI text-to-speech solution that can be used throughout your learning project.

Personal Productivity: 

AI and machine learning have numerous applications for productivity that can spur innovation within the corporate training landscape. 

• Copy AI
  Copy AI is an enterprise level solution that provides translations in addition to business and workflow automations, with a special focus on sales and marketing.
   
• MagicSlides
  MagicSlides generates a presentation from text, topic, or YouTube content you provide. As an efficiency booster, it can automate presentation slide creation.
   
• Taskade
  Taskade helps teams keep track of tasks and projects across multiple team members and workspaces. It includes a shared calendar, master agenda, customizable notifications. It also has features to help with automating tasks, generating workflows, and visualizing notes.

Rules for the AI Road

Legal challenges and copyright lawsuits are emerging alongside the excitement about AI’s use and potential. Also of concern, many companies that provide generative AI tools claim ownership to information users input into their tools. As learning and development professionals, it’s our responsibility to establish and follow rules for the road to ensure we are using AI ethically and responsibly. 

#1. Safeguard personal and proprietary information:

• Never include any personally-identifiable information  into AI and ML tools 
• Implement a human checkpoint to check AI and ML generated content for inaccuracy, bias, and potential harm
• Read the fine print, including terms of use, and approach all tools with caution

#2. Ensure you have consent:

• Review and comply with applicable organizational or industry AI policies and best practices. 
• Always be transparent and disclose use of AI technology to fellow team members, clients and partners as it relates to the work you are performing with them.
• Only use proprietary client information with AI with approval and with platforms that provide explicit assurances that the information will not be used to train publicly available language models.

#3. Review AI outputs with heavy scrutiny:

• Always review AI generated content for the accidental inclusion of sensitive information
• Understand that AI output is capable of being inaccurate, offensive, containing bias or discriminatory content, and requires human oversight and review before being used
• Beware of AI Hallucinations which are a well-documented phenomenon

#4. Create a company AI policy with key information:

• Adopt a standardized review process with the required stages of approval
• Create a master list of AI technologies in use with explanations and lessons learned
• Always be transparent and disclose how your using AI technology with clients and partners

The Most Important Part is to Start

Now is the time to begin to experiment, learn, and implement. AI and ML will continue to grow at an exponential rate and are already being integrated into many of the tools we’re using day to day. As learning professionals, we need to successfully partner with AI technologies and to integrate tools into our workflow that will make us more efficient, productive, creative, and thoughtful. L&D professionals should adopt a strategic approach that considers the benefits, challenges, and best practices of AI and ML.