How L&D Becomes Indispensable in the A.I. Era

Budgets are shrinking. AI is booming. And the human work that defines culture? It feels on the line.  So what happens to the human work – culture, connection and development born from real-world, human exchange – when everyone's in 'survival mode'?

At Offbeat's L&D Conference in June, I shared how learning teams, empowered by their organizations, effectively have permission to evangelize "the way things are done around here" — the very definition of organizational culture.

Learning & Development's influence reaches beyond just skills. L&D fundamentally impacts:

• What gets rewarded

• What gets repeated

• What becomes normal within an organization

At its best, L&D amplifies culture, helping teams grow in ways that reflect their identity and direction. 

Yet, in today's landscape of rapid AI integration and hype, global economic volatility and pervasive pressure of "survival mode," and the unfortunate reduction of people-first programs like DEI and flexible work arrangements, this cultural amplification isn't just beneficial. It's critical for organizational resilience and brand differentiation.

Don't Shrink From Fear

Recently, I've noticed a growing sense of fear infiltrating the profession. At the conferences I attended this summer, I heard people say that L&D's role is being questioned, and in some cases, even made irrelevant. One candid speaker went so far as to say, "Our jobs as we know them are dead."

And I agree... to an extent.

The reasons:

• AI.

• Budget pressure.

• A rising focus on control and political permission structures prioritizing performance at all costs

• the reduction of human-centered programs deemed 'non-essential'.

We see it in DEI being deprioritized. In return-to-office policies that ignore the research. In the narrowing of anything that doesn't show immediate results (read: reassurance).

Additionally, I hear L&D leaders increasingly urging learning teams to "speak the language of the business" and redouble efforts to tie initiatives to strategic business objectives.  If L&D initiatives aren't tied to strategic goals, that often signals a bigger organizational issue, namely weak goal-setting or communication from leadership, or that L&D is seen as a content factory – something we must work to change.

Still, it's almost as if we're dog-whistling to execs, signaling that we know our work might be next on the chopping block, if it isn't already. It's the perfect season for consultants to sweep in with McKinzered, snake oil promises of formulaically overhauling learning in a way "that actually works" by "stripping away the fluff" and "driving results."

And, again, I agree to an extent.

Our work needs to evolve.  Not just to embrace new technology but to re-embrace our timeless humanity.

Because human learning is, well, human. There are a whole range of variables that cannot be automated or guaranteed, no matter how much we try to reduce uncertainty with trend mapping or statistics: connection, challenge, listening, personal relevance, application (I could go on).

I love AI, yet it is a tool, not a replacement. Right now, it offers tons of content. Some of it is useful, much of it is not. And a bit of it is entirely false. Even Apple's research shows advanced AI models can completely collapse on complex tasks.

And, I don't know about you, but these days I swear my ChatGPT is devolving. 🥴

AI isn't making experts; it's giving us more to sort through.

Sure, some platforms help L&D teams quickly generate content and deliver personalized learning paths with a level of efficiency human curation alone can’t match at scale, especially for individual journeys or blended programs. Some advanced applications are emerging that identify large-scale skill gaps and predict future learning needs from market trends.  And these aspects are impressive. 

Yet they don't replace the human strategy behind learning that endures. Instead, they free up L&D professionals to focus on the higher-value strategic work: understanding cultural nuances, curating impactful experiences, and facilitating the human connection that AI cannot replicate.

I could 3D print a shoe from downloaded sneaker specs. But that doesn't mean it belongs in the market. Same for learning.

The Indispensable Value of Human L&D

What L&D experts do can't be downloaded:

• We curate meaningful content and experiences that connect to strategic goals.

• We know how to ask the right questions to uncover unique organizational needs.

• We foster cross-functional collaboration, spark thoughtful reflection, and protect our brands from generic, off-brand "best practices."

Ultimately, we help our companies define what "good" looks like.
Not generically. For our unique team cultures. And for right now.

This is especially true in critical topics like Brand Onboarding and Leadership Development, which can't be generic or off-the-shelf. These learning experiences need to reflect the brand's values, strategic ambitions, preferred ways of working and the current moment the company is in. That can't come from a vendor library.

Here, the greatest impact often emerges not just from the content, but from the shared understanding it fosters and from the collective learning culture that is shaped between participants. AI still has a ways to go in being integrated into group sessions, where cultural interpretations of "leadership here" are often handed down from those who have lived through the brand's evolution.

Finally, and perhaps most undervalued, L&D often creates the conditions for something tech can't replicate: being seen by another person. Being challenged by a peer. Noticing a flash of understanding in someone's eyes, whether your development coach, a colleague — or even the CEO.

The Cost of Disengagement and the Risk of Sameness

When companies actively strip away these very human elements – context, connection, inclusion and flexibility – one might pause and reflect: Were they ever really committed to those things in the first place? Were they temporary strategies for rapid growth? A thin layer of employer branding polish now chipped away in the name of today’s business climate?

Consider these current realities:

• Overwhelmed by Change: 68% of employees say they're overwhelmed by the dizzying pace of change, not the work itself. (LinkedIn, 2024)

• Engagement Crisis: 79% of global employees are disengaged, sparking conversations about how we lead & support teams in the new "emotional economy." (Gallup, 2024 Davos Report)

• L&D's Stats Aren't Much Better: 88% say their company training is 'irrelevant, boring or outdated' sometimes, often, or always — impacting sign-up & completion. (Oracle x HRSG, 2023)

The data is screaming for relevancy, human connection & belonging. 

So how does L&D make an impact?

When everything feels urgent, we need to ensure we design for what is increasingly essential today: alignment, belonging and future-facing collaboration, so that learning feels like purposeful support, not just one more thing on the to-do list.

Culture needs to be reinforced by having our learning experiences not only support strategic business goals and upskilling, but also brand culture and personal relevance — even beyond a team member's roles or the company itself — to strengthen connection and a sense of belonging to something beyond revenue targets.

The risk of not doing that? Namely: sameness.

I've worked at some renowned brands. A few that used to stand out now feel largely interchangeable. Generic. Same approach, same problems, different logo. How can we ask people to wholeheartedly invest in a vision that is not significantly different from everyone else's?

Still, let’s be honest: in a climate demanding immediate results and efficiency, L&D’s real challenge isn’t only adopting technology. It’s quantifying the “human” impact we champion. Disengagement and outdated training stats are easy to point to. Yet how do we measure “belonging,” “connection” or the simple power of “being seen?”

This is where our profession must evolve: creating robust frameworks to show how these intangible-yet-indispensable human qualities drive organizational resilience, innovation and sustainable business outcomes.

Lead. Fully Human.

So if you're in L&D and feeling the weight of all this, here's what I'll say: Don't shrink. Don't hand your voice to a template or a prompt.

We can embrace technology and still insist on humanity.

Because we're not just delivering content and facilitating workshops. We're shaping culture. And, more than ever, that's work worth doing well.