AI isn’t just a buzzword anymore but it’s also surrounded by a lot of noise. In this episode of HowNow’s L&D Disrupt podcast, we sat down with Ross Stevenson, Learning Strategist and former Head of Learning at Trainline, to unpack what’s real, what’s hype, and what it all means for the future of L&D.
Spoiler: It’s not about replacing humans; it’s about redefining how we work alongside machines.
“I don’t think it’s like a trend,” Ross said. “The technology itself definitely has staying power… and evidently is part of our world now and will be going forward.”
AI’s not a fad that’ll disappear when the next shiny thing drops but the conversation around it might be. You’ve probably seen the same LinkedIn posts Ross mentioned the ones declaring, ‘L&D is dead,’ ‘This kills that,’ or ‘Say goodbye to X forever.’
That’s the bubble. The hype cycle.
As Ross puts it, “It’s maybe the overhyping of a lot of the automated capabilities.” The real challenge isn’t whether AI will stick around; it’s how we use it meaningfully.
Here’s where AI hits its limits.
“And it’s still the fact that what we can’t replace is experience and context,” Ross explained. “For 95% of people that use these tools, they don’t spend the time providing context or understanding how much context these tools have on my particular situation.”
That’s the catch. AI can give you answers but not necessarily the right ones for your world. It doesn’t have lived experience, it doesn’t sense nuance, and it doesn’t understand why something matters the way a human does.
Think about it like this: a doctor might have an AI tool that analyses patient data, but without their years of clinical experience and intuition? You’re missing the magic.
Ross is clear about one thing: AI should add to your toolkit, not replace it.
“Look at it as part of that ecosystem of tools and solutions that you use.”
That mindset changes everything. It’s not AI vs. L&D; it’s AI and L&D. When used well, it frees you up to focus on the high-value stuff: coaching, context, creativity (the human side of learning).
Ross didn’t sugarcoat it: “People have always asked the question, do we still need L&D?”
But this isn’t a new crisis, it’s just louder now. And the answer? It depends on whether L&D evolves.
“There’s opportunity for the function itself to evolve with the technology that’s available now,” Ross said, “and maybe provide value in different ways where that technology can’t.”
That’s where human skills come back into play — empathy, storytelling, creativity, coaching. “Human experiences and human interaction and human curated and creative stuff will be a lot more of a premium,” Ross added.
If tech can now automate the admin and content delivery side of learning, then L&D’s new value lies in the parts only humans can do. The ones that make learning meaningful.
“The people who do that will stick around,” Ross warned. “The people who don’t… will struggle.”
Here’s Ross’s advice for anyone feeling overwhelmed or not sure where to start.
“Go away and understand when we talk about generative AI — what does that actually mean and how do some of those very basic things work?”
You don’t need to become an AI engineer overnight. “Spending half an hour to an hour just getting clear on the basics will help you both personally and professionally,” he said.
“I’m just an explorer,” Ross told us. “I’d say just do the same thing. Go and explore, play, and see where that takes you.”
Don’t just use AI for the easy stuff like writing an email or proofreading. Push it further. Have a conversation with it. Treat it like a thought partner. See what new opportunities it unlocks.
You don’t need to chase every new tool or update. “I niche down and say, in the industry I work in, I pay more attention to the stuff that appears in that field,” Ross said.
That’s how you stay sane and strategic.
This one’s big. Too many people are asking, “How do I get AI to write my 100 courses this year?”
Ross challenges that thinking: “People are thinking too small and too finite. What I’d rather see is people ask, ‘What can I now reshape because of this tech?’”
That’s the real opportunity; not doing the same things faster, but reimagining what learning could be.
AI’s not here to replace L&D… it’s here to elevate it (but only if we let it).
As Ross said, it’s time to move past the hype, understand the tools, and use them to double down on what makes learning human.
Because the future of L&D isn’t machine vs. human - it’s machine and human working smarter, together.
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