When AI automates the work people learn from
Yasmine Alani examines what happens to workplace learning when AI takes over tasks through which workers develop judgement and expertise.
AI can automate workplace tasks that also provide the experience through which people learn how work is done and develop professional judgement.
Yasmine Alani, director and chief workplace humanist at Stag & Leopard, speaks to Learning News about what happens to workforce capability when some of that developmental work is performed by AI.
Employees using AI need enough expertise to assess its work, challenge its outputs and recognise when human judgement is required. That expertise develops partly through practice, feedback and contact with more experienced colleagues.
‘The moment you decide which tasks AI will take on, you’re actually already making decisions about learning, because the by-products of those decisions affect what people will practise, what they’re going to be responsible for and how they’re going to develop,’ Alani says.
Routine early-career work can provide repeated practice and opportunities to understand the context in which decisions are made. Alani says organisations should not preserve pointless work, but they do need to retain opportunities for people to think, question and receive feedback.
She gives the example of preparing a business proposal. AI could produce the initial draft, while junior employees take responsibility for consulting colleagues across the organisation, testing its accuracy and gathering feedback. The process changes, but the opportunities to develop critical thinking and judgement remain.
Choosing which tasks AI will perform changes what employees practise and how expertise develops. Alani says L&D should be involved in those decisions.
Employees must also be able to recognise and challenge faulty AI output. That depends on expertise, confidence and a workplace where concerns can be raised. If an organisation calls for careful judgement while rewarding people primarily for speed, employees will know which behaviour counts.
The interview examines how L&D can identify the developmental value embedded in work and influence decisions about automation before expertise-building opportunities disappear.
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