As AI continues to evolve at a rapid pace, organizations are advancing from research and initial experiments with AI tools to enterprise-wide AI at scale.
This is an exciting move—and L&D leaders are rising to the challenge by creating new AI literacy and skilling programs, AI-powered learning experiences, and AI-enabled learning content development and QA procedures.
We’re fortunate to work with clients across multiple industries, from hospitality to consumer goods, which gives us a great vantage point to see the top focus areas for AI in learning and development.
Read on to find out how your peers are prioritizing and investing in AI, including real-world examples.
L&D leaders know that the need for introductory AI training has left the building: Our people are already using a wide range of AI tools.
Caveat: Frequent AI use does not equal organizational or individual AI literacy and fluency.
AI literacy and fluency are much bigger than mere AI tool usage: They’re a state of being that encompasses how people think, act, and integrate AI into their daily workflows.
When we upskill our people for AI literacy and fluency, we’re targeting genuine, lasting behavioral change and tool mastery, ensuring that they don't just understand AI, but embody our organization’s strategy for responsible and ethical AI use.
Of course, every team will have specialized training needs depending on their needs and workflows. And every department and business unit will have unique opportunities and risks, which means a LOT of customized training needs.
Here are two projects we’ve recently wrapped for clients to help them address their specific, urgent needs for AI literacy and fluency training.
Large online retail organization: Inclusive and responsible genAI
As our client prepares for extensive discussions and promotions surrounding the expanded use of AI within the organization and in its products, it recognizes AI’s potential ethical risks, especially to marginalized and vulnerable communities.
Our client is committed to implementing safeguards and ethics with their AI technologies as it promotes its product and wants its employees to embody these values. The AI literacy training we are creating with this client is a key step toward achieving that goal.
Through this training, we’re equipping sales and marketing teams with a comprehensive understanding of responsible AI practices. The training upskills the audience on identifying potential issues regarding fairness, privacy, inclusivity, equity, and diversity when using genAI.
The goal: To bring this AI literacy into conversations with customers and advise them on responsible AI use.
Consumer lending company: Equitable credit decisions with AI
As AI continues to evolve, fresh opportunities are emerging in every industry to reconsider previous ways of working. In finance, AI can shift decisions that have previously relied on personal judgment to a place of greater fairness and equity.
Moving beyond entrenched processes and mindsets is never easy, and our client is supporting finance professionals in making the shift. The training we are co-creating began with certification training on AI basics and progressed into the applications of AI in the credit assessment workflow. The next layer involved detailed training on how to partner with AI in navigating ethical considerations, which featured high-quality video content from experts in the field.
Organizational demand for AI literacy and fluency is growing rapidly—if you need support in creating training for your people, reach out and we’ll connect you with an expert Solution Architect.
What gets our clients really excited about the use of AI for learning? The ability to create completely tailored learning experiences that adapt to text and voice input from learners.
No more awkward role-plays. No more ineffective multiple-choice questions. Learners can interact with training in unprecedented ways—and AI is making the dream of adaptive learning a cost-effective reality.
We’re working with multiple clients to create AI-powered training, including:
These simulations harness advanced technology in dynamic training scenarios, and they offer secure settings to practice essential skills.
And, fitting skills practice into a busy schedule is now possible with AI-powered training.
Some of the key features include:
GenAI adds variability and adaptiveness to these immersive scenarios as digital characters, situations, and feedback respond to what learners say and do. There’s no “script”: Any scenario or interaction can (and does!) unfold in myriad ways.
Check out this video of our work with Hilton creating high-impact, AI-powered, immersive coaching simulations.
Among the most sought-after expected benefits of AI in learning and development are the abilities to create content faster, improve efficiency, and reduce costs. No doubt you’re looking to do the same!
We’re working on multiple clients on projects that include using gen AI to help:
In addition to text-based content development, we’re using artificial intelligence to create multimedia. In a recent project, we were able to create a rich, immersive environment by creating background graphics using AI tools. And for our online training client, we significantly reduced production costs while keeping engagement high.
Online training company: Generating video avatars using AI
Video content is particularly expensive and time-consuming, and it runs the risk of additional costs (reshoots!) if the course needs to be updated.
Our client, a top provider of online training, wanted to streamline video development (no more onsite filming!), reduce total production costs, and capitalize on learning curiosity around AI.
Utilizing AI, our subject matter expert quickly crafted their avatar, fine-tuning it for lifelike realism. Once created, the course scripts were seamlessly integrated, generating talking-head-style videos within minutes.
These videos were then ready for post-production treatment with the SweetRush team and dramatically reduced our timeline—a game-changer! Not only did we deliver our top-notch SweetRush content, but we also delivered substantial savings in production costs, passed on to our client. To top it off, learners remained captivated as they witnessed AI in action.
Interested in proven strategies for using AI to improve speed to market and reduce costs? Get in touch!
The race is on to find the best use cases for AI in learning and development, and yet we can’t brush real challenges under the rug in our eagerness to reap the benefits. Accuracy is still a real concern as the debate continues—can “hallucinations” be engineered away?
Another concern that we and our clients are grappling with is the quality of content produced by Large Language Models (LLMs) versus that crafted by humans.
SweetRush is pioneering explorations in this area by conducting modern iterations of the Turing Test; we are analyzing whether LLM-generated content stands on par with human-generated material.
Through these studies, we harness the deep industry knowledge of Subject Matter Experts and Learning Experience Designers to pinpoint the respective traits of human and AI outputs. Is a “soul,” worldview, or authentic human perspective absent in AI-generated text, and if so, how might this impact the overall quality and reception of the content (i.e. if it were integrated into a training program, for instance)?
Our approach ensures a balanced evaluation, creating scenarios that channel the strengths of both AI and human input, from deep factual knowledge to rich personal insights.
The war for talent has reached the AI shores. Research conducted by Randstad found a 2,000% increase in roles requiring artificial intelligence skills in 2023. In some US states, there are more than 10 job ads for every AI professional.
Yet our clients need talent—and in the early stages of adoption, they need specialized talent with the expertise to consult on AI policies, governance, roadmaps, and application. You are likely in a similar place, navigating a lot of new territory and needing help to cut through the confusion and keep your company and teams on track.
Experienced consultants can help you answer mission-critical questions, such as:
To get your arms around these issues and others, you need the expertise and support of an AI consultant, and we’ve built a bench of experts ready to support our clients.
Did these priorities resonate with you? There’s no doubt they will continue to evolve at pace with the rapid advancements in AI technology.
We’re helping so many clients address their unique challenges with targeted AI solutions and expertise, and we’d be honored to help you as well. Please reach out and let’s discuss your needs!
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