LAS is an award-winning provider of elearning consultancy, design, development and training services in the UK and internationally.
Established in 2005 as LearningAge Solutions, we work with some of the best known organisations in the world to boost their performance through the innovative use of learning technologies. Working in partnership with our customers, we draw on proven principles from human behaviour, how people learn and how the brain works to create impactful digital learning solutions with real return on investment.
Tess is a director of LAS. She has worked in a learning environment for over twenty years. First, as a senior manager in universities, moving into digital learning ten years ago.
by Tess Robinson
Posted 23 January 2025
Digital learning has certainly felt the impact of GenAI over the last 18 months. As an industry, we have always been great experimenters and keen to test out any new technology as it comes along. It's true that GenAI is enabling us all to do some things better, faster and cheaper but, as we experiment with it, we find that skilled humans still outperform GenAI in many tasks, particularly the more strategically important or complex ones. GenAI is not yet proving quite as transformative as we thought it might - the hype curve for GenAI certainly seems to be peaking at the moment.
However, just as you thought you were getting to grips with GenAI, along comes its more evolved, more sci-fi-esque sibling, Agentic AI, to shake it all up again.
For those who've yet to come across it, Agentic AI represents a new paradigm in AI, moving beyond pattern recognition and predicative analysis to independent decision making and action with minimal human input needed.
Agentic AI differs from GenAI in several important ways:
It's like having employees who just happen to be machines! Agentic AI has the potential to really shake up corporate work and learning, far more than GenAI has done. It's relatively early days, so it's a little hard to predict exactly how it will pan out at the moment. How better to explore the issue then, than to ask an AI what it thinks the impact of Agentic AI will be over the near future. Here's Perplexity's answer to the question:
How will Agentic AI change the face of corporate learning in the next 3 years?
Agentic AI is poised to revolutionise corporate learnng over the next three years, transforming how organizations approach employee development and skill acquisition. This advanced form of AI will introduce more personalized, adaptive, and autonomous learning experiences for employees across various industries.
Personalized Learning Paths
Agentic AI will create highly tailored learning experiences for each employee. By analyzing individual performance data, learning styles (sic!) and career goals, AI agents will autonomously design and adjust personalized learning paths. This will ensure that employees receive the most relevant and effective training for their specific needs and aspirations.
Continuous Skill Assessment and Development
AI agents will continuously monitor employee performance and skills, identifying gaps and recommending targeted learning interventions in real time. This proactive approach will enable organizations to maintain a workforce with up-to-date skills, crucial for staying competitive in rapidly evolving industries.
Autonomous Content Creation and Curation
Agentic AI will autonomously create, curate and update learning content based on the latest industry trends and organizational needs. This will ensure that learning material remain current and relevant, without the need for constant human intervention.
Enhanced Collaboration and Knowledge Sharing
AI agents will facilitate more dynamic and personalized modes of communication within organizations. They will identify opportunities for knowledge sharing and collaboration among employees, creating a more interconnected and efficient learning ecosystem.
Adaptive Assessment and Feedback
Agentic AI will provide real-time, adaptive assessments and feedback during learning processes. This will allow for immediate course corrections and optimizations, ensuring that employees are always on the most effective learning path.
Integration with Workflow
Learning experiences will become seamlessly integrated into daily workflows, with AI agents identifying moments of need and providing just-in-time learning opportunities. This approach will make learning a continuous, organic part of an employee's work life.
What do you think? Has Perplexity predicted correctly? It'll be interesting to revisit this article in a few years time to see if any of its predictions have come to pass.
My view is that, although this new technological era, sometimes referred to as the 'Binary Big Bang', is really exciting and brings a wealth of opportunity, the majority of organisations don't seem remotely ready for this level of AI integration. Accenture's recent Technology Trends 2025 report reflects this. They found that 68% of executives reported a need to upskill / reskill their employees in GenAI tools and technologies - that's over two thirds that are not yet prepared. It's going to be a big and expensive job to get everyone up to speed and organisational systems and processes adapted accordingly. In this context, Perplexity's predictions of a seamless, personalised and adaptive AI world seem much further off than 3 years to me.
