I’ve been in L&D for over two decades. In that time, the function has survived multiple predictions of its demise—the internet would make training obsolete, YouTube would replace instructors, MOOCs would eliminate corporate learning. The Association for Talent Development has tracked these cycles and found that each technological shift has actually increased demand for strategic L&D capability.

None of those predictions came true. But AI feels different.

Not because AI will eliminate the need for workforce development—that need is increasing, not decreasing. But because AI is transforming how development happens and what L&D professionals need to contribute.

Here’s my honest assessment of where this is heading.

What AI Changes

Content Creation

AI can now generate learning content—text, scenarios, quizzes, even code—faster than humans. The implications:

• Generic content becomes commodity
• Production timelines compress dramatically
• Individual customisation becomes feasible
• Quality control and curation become critical
• Content creation skills alone become less valuable

L&D professionals who primarily produce content will need to evolve.

Content Delivery

AI-powered systems can deliver personalised learning experiences, adapt in real-time to learner responses, provide instant feedback, and scale to any number of learners simultaneously.

The implications:

• Instructor-led training becomes less necessary for knowledge transfer
• Scalability constraints ease
• Personalisation previously impossible becomes routine
• Human facilitation focuses on higher-value activities

L&D professionals who primarily deliver content face similar pressures.

Learner Support

AI can answer questions, provide just-in-time guidance, and support practice—functions that often required human experts or help desks.

The implications:

• Basic support becomes automated
• More complex support needs remain human
• Coaching and mentoring functions evolve
• Support availability increases dramatically

L&D professionals in support roles need to focus on what AI can’t do.

Analytics and Measurement

AI enables sophisticated analysis of learning data—patterns across learners, predictive insights about outcomes, automated evaluation of complex work products.

The implications:

• Better visibility into what’s working
• More precise targeting of interventions
• Evidence-based decisions become more feasible
• Analytics skills become more valuable

L&D professionals with strong analytical capabilities will be in demand.

What Remains Human

Amid the change, some things remain fundamentally human:

Understanding Business Context

AI doesn’t understand your organisation—its strategy, culture, politics, history, constraints. Translating business needs into learning solutions requires human judgment about factors AI can’t perceive.

Facilitating Complex Human Development

Some development requires human interaction: leadership growth, interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence, navigating ambiguity. AI can support but not replace the human elements of these experiences.

Change Management

Helping people adapt to change involves understanding fears, building trust, navigating resistance, and creating commitment. These are human dynamics that require human engagement.

Ethical Judgment

Decisions about what to teach, how to balance competing values, and how to handle sensitive topics require ethical judgment that AI shouldn’t make autonomously.

Relationship and Influence

Partnering effectively with business leaders, building credibility, influencing decisions—these relationship skills remain essential and human.

The Evolved L&D Role

Combining what’s changing with what remains human suggests an evolved L&D role:

From Content Creator to Content Curator

Less emphasis on creating from scratch. More emphasis on curating, customising, and quality-controlling AI-generated content. The skill shifts from production to judgment.

From Instructor to Experience Designer

Less emphasis on delivering content. More emphasis on designing experiences that blend AI-delivered content, human facilitation, peer learning, and applied practice into effective journeys.

From Training Administrator to Learning Ecosystem Architect

Less emphasis on scheduling courses. More emphasis on building ecosystems where learning happens continuously—integrating formal programs, AI tools, communities, and on-the-job development.

From Subject Matter Expert to Performance Partner

Less emphasis on knowing content. More emphasis on understanding business problems and designing solutions that may include learning, but also process change, job aids, technology, and other interventions.

From Reactive Order-Taker to Strategic Consultant

Less emphasis on fulfilling requests as specified. More emphasis on diagnosing root causes and recommending interventions that actually address business needs.

Skills for the AI-Transformed Future

L&D professionals need to develop:

AI fluency. Understanding what AI can and can’t do, how to work with AI tools effectively, and how to integrate AI into learning solutions.

Strategic consulting. Diagnosing business needs, recommending appropriate interventions, influencing stakeholders, measuring impact.

Experience design. Creating learning experiences that combine multiple elements—technology, human interaction, practice, support—into effective journeys.

Data and analytics. Using learning data to understand effectiveness, identify gaps, and continuously improve.

Change management. Helping organisations and individuals navigate the changes AI brings, including the changes to learning itself.

Curation and quality control. Evaluating AI-generated content, selecting from abundant options, ensuring accuracy and appropriateness.

The Uncomfortable Transition

Let’s be honest: this transition will be uncomfortable. Skills that made L&D professionals successful may become less relevant. Roles may shrink or disappear entirely.

But new opportunities will emerge. Organisations need help navigating AI’s workforce implications. AI adoption itself requires significant learning and change management. The expanded role I’ve described creates opportunities for those who evolve.

The professionals who thrive will be those who:

• Develop AI fluency rather than avoiding it
• Build strategic skills that transcend technology
• Focus on what remains distinctly human
• Continuously adapt as the landscape evolves

Those who wait for the transformation to pass will be disappointed. It’s not passing.

Practical Steps

For L&D professionals thinking about their futures:

Develop your own AI skills. Use AI tools daily. Understand their capabilities and limitations firsthand. This is table stakes.

Strengthen strategic capabilities. Build consulting, diagnostic, and influencing skills. The performance partner role requires them.

Invest in human-centred skills. Facilitation, coaching, change management, relationship building. These remain valuable.

Learn from other fields. UX design, product management, organisational development—these adjacent fields offer perspectives and skills that transfer.

Stay connected to business needs. The closer your work is to business outcomes, the more secure your relevance.

Experiment and learn. Try new approaches. See what works. Build a portfolio of experience with AI-enhanced learning.

The Optimistic View

I’m ultimately optimistic about L&D’s future, even as the function transforms.

Workforce development is becoming more important, not less. The pace of skill change is accelerating. AI itself creates massive learning needs. Organisations need help navigating continuous adaptation.

The question isn’t whether workforce development remains important. It’s whether L&D professionals evolve to meet the new requirements.

Those who evolve will find expanded opportunities to contribute to organisational success. The strategic L&D professional—the one who understands business, designs effective experiences, manages change, and integrates AI thoughtfully—will be more valuable than the training administrator of the past.

That’s a future worth working toward.

The Choice

Every L&D professional faces a choice:

Resist the change, defend the status quo, and hope it all blows over. This is comfortable in the short term but risky over time.

Or embrace the transformation, invest in new capabilities, and position for the evolved role. This is uncomfortable but positions for long-term relevance.

The transformation is coming regardless of individual choices. The only question is how you position yourself within it.

I know which choice I’m making. I hope you’ll join me.