Sonesta International Hotels

Kristin Broadhead

Learning and development post-covid saw online development tools come into high demand, and with that came the AI boom.

Artificial intelligence, or AI, has trended up tremendously recently, forcing tech giants like Google to release their version of ChatGPT; Bard. People unfamiliar with some of its amazing uses might be worried about the increase in using AI. But the technology still has its faults and needs that human element to reign it in and narrow the focus.

When a business partner comes to the training department for help, they don’t always know how to articulate the issue they need solved. So let’s say for example, a manager complains, “I need a training handbook created specifically about why it is important to be on time for your shift. Many of my team members are arriving to work late and it is cascading into so many problems!” A good training specialist or instructional designer would not just accept that a training handbook needs to be created; instead they would ask questions like, “Have you asked them why? Is there an outside force making them late? Could something be wrong with the timeclock?” To which you discover, “Well yes… the normal bus route many of them use to get to the workplace is under heavy construction and causing delays all over town.” Until AI can get humans to peel back all the layers of the proverbial onion and find the root of an issue, I think we are fine… for now.

“Technology still has its faults and needs that human element to reign it in and narrow the focus.”

What can AI help us with today? At Sonesta, we lean on AI text generation when a subject matter expert (SME) is not available or to supplement knowledge the SME may not be an expert in. With AI, the output is much more conversational and ready-to-use, unlike just a normal search functionality.

Do your team members benefit from role-playing situations? Consider asking AI to generate a 3-minute role-play scenario on a specific topic you are covering. At the very least it will provide you with a starting point to develop your own script!

Another great way to utilize the AI functionality is to ask it to create an outline of a subject. Imagine a department is undergoing a complete structural rehaul, how would you begin to map out this process and how can you help team members with this change management. These are things you can ask AI to help you create.

Another AI perk to embrace is the video avatar development. Using tools like this will cut budgets up to 70% when you eliminate the need for actors, film crews, and location site fees. Not to mention the post-production costs! By far I am most excited to see the advances in this technology as it spices up boring slides and brings life on eLearning courses with a face to the voice.

While many AI tools offer cost and time-saving features, remember that it should only be used as a tool to augment and compliment your learning development and process. The blended approach of combining human brain power and expertise with the AI component will surely enhance your internal processes and assist greatly in improving your content. AI is not a perfect tool and needs human oversight, but it sure is fun to play with!