What AI agents really change at work, from the Learning Technologies stage
At Learning Technologies 2026, Markus Bernhardt looks beyond agent hype to examine governance, visibility and decision rights at scale.
AI agents promise significant gains in productivity, but their real impact only emerges when organisations rethink how work, decisions, and accountability are structured. This session moves beyond individual experimentation to examine what agents actually change when embedded into shared workflows, governed systems, and organisational processes. It challenges the assumption that agents are simply better tools, reframing them as catalysts that force new thinking about decision rights, data, and trust at scale.
Agentwashing: What AI Agents Really Mean for Work (and Learning) - Markus Bernhardt
As “AI agents” flood the market, most organisations are still in the same place: individuals experimenting in private, inside isolated tools. That can boost personal productivity, but it rarely changes how work gets done across teams.
In this session, Markus Bernhardt reframes agents from tools to systems. Agents become transformational only when workflows, communication, and decision structures evolve alongside them, so that agent-driven work becomes visible, auditable, and trusted.
The session introduces a practical maturity ladder, moving from isolated use to shared, visible workflows to governance, and a simple way to separate real autonomy from agentwashing.
Learning Technologies Conference Chair, Donald H Taylor, said: “The focus here is practical and strategic, with an emphasis on where agents create value today, where they introduce risk, and what organisations need in place before they scale responsibly.”
Key Topics Include:
- Why private agent use rarely changes how organisations execute work
- Agentwashing: how to tell autonomy from rebranded automation
- The maturity ladder: isolated use, shared and visible workflows, governed execution
- Decision rights: what agents decide, what humans decide, and what requires both
- Data contracts: the hidden prerequisite for agent-driven work
Agentwashing: What AI Agents Really Mean for Work (and Learning) takes place on day one, 29 April at 13:55.
The full programme is available on the event website: Learning Technologies 2026 Conference. Conference passes are on sale, with a £100 saving for bookings before 13 March: Learning Technologies 2026 Conference Conference Passes.
Save £100 when you book before 13 March
Your Conference Pass includes all conference tracks and theatres, networking lunch and drinks and full access to both days of the exhibition. There are two ticket types, including our premium option for those looking to get the most out of your experience at Learning Technologies.
Speakers include: David Kelly, Dani Johnson, Lori Niles-Hofmann, Laura Overton, Michelle Ockers, Egle Vinauskaite, Nigel Paine, Kelsey Kates, Serena Gonsalves-Fersch and Simon Gibson; just a few of the 70+ speakers on the programme.
More information
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Learning Technologies 2026
29-30 April 2026, London Excel
#LT26UK
learningtechnologies.co.uk
Markus Bernhardt
Principal, Endeavor Intelligence
Dr. Markus Bernhardt is a strategic advisor who provides senior leaders with the evidence-based frameworks required to execute complex workforce transformations with confidence. His insights are drawn from the rigorous research in his acclaimed Endeavor Report™ and his unique 360° view of the technology ecosystem. A sought-after keynote speaker and researcher, he delivers actionable strategies that enable organizations to build future-ready, human-centered workplaces where talent thrives.