Lori, one of the most forward-thinking voices in learning & development today. She challenges how organizations approach learning – moving from traditional courses to AI-driven, autonomous learning ecosystems that build skills in real time.
We had the opportunity to interview Lori!
What will you be talking about, and why is this topic particularly important right now?
We are living through the most exciting moment in the history of learning and development. The tools available to us today would have seemed like science fiction a decade ago, and the pace is only accelerating.
What I want to explore is what it actually means to seize that moment. For example, the AI tutor is not a futuristic concept. It is already out in the wild, via LearnLM, Copilot, ChatGPT, delivering spaced, hyperpersonalised, contextualised learning that adapts in real time. And, it delivers strong results and ROI. The courseless L&D department is not a provocation. It is a real and achievable future. The organisations that understand what that means for their function right now, and move accordingly, are the ones that will truly rightskill their people.
This is our moonshot moment. I want to help people see it that way.
What do you see as the biggest challenges and opportunities in the L&D and lifelong learning landscape today?
The biggest challenge is structural. Most L&D functions were built to produce courses. In many cases, employees have already adapted to AI by learning from colleagues, YouTube, and AI tools, largely without waiting for L&D to catch up.
The opportunity is that we finally have the infrastructure to do better. Skills intelligence, real-time demand signals, learning in the flow of work, and bidirectional AI tutors. The organisations getting this right treat skills development as a supply chain, with build-versus-buy decisions and measurable outputs. That shift, from learning as a program to learning as operational infrastructure, is the most exciting thing happening in this field right now.
How is AI and emerging technology changing the way organizations develop skills and learning cultures?
More slowly and more unevenly than the hype suggests, but the direction is irreversible.
The move I’m watching most closely is the shift from AI as a content creation shortcut to AI as delivery infrastructure. We’re seeing the early shape of what I call the Autonomous Learning Ecosystem. It monitors performance signals, detects gaps, and initiates learning before a manager notices a problem. That’s a fundamentally different operating model.
But there are real floors to what AI can replace. Regulated industries, compliance-critical content, and anything requiring auditable completion create structural constraints that won’t disappear. And culture doesn’t bend to technology. If the learning culture is broken, AI amplifies that too.
What is one concrete approach or mindset shift that L&D leaders should adopt to create real impact?
Stop using AI to do the same thing faster and cheaper.
That’s where most L&D teams are right now. Faster course builds, cheaper voiceovers, quicker translations. But the workflow itself is a barrier.
The real shift is a full redesign of how the L&D function operates. What does it mean to sense skill demand before someone files a learning request? What does it mean to deliver capability in the flow of work rather than in a catalogue? What does it mean to measure performance outcomes instead of completion rates? Those are not technology questions. They are structural and strategic ones, and AI cannot answer them for you.
Personally, I think this is the most exciting era in EdTech we have ever seen!
What are you most looking forward to about joining the Learning Conference in Stockholm?
Returning, for one thing. The last time I was in Stockholm was March 13th, 2020. I took the last available flight home as the world shut down, so the trip was memorable for all the wrong reasons. I’m very ready to close that loop properly.
Beyond that, I’m genuinely looking forward to the hallway conversations. The Nordic countries have a distinctly different relationship to learning and employee development, and I want to understand what’s keeping practitioners here up at night right now. I expect to learn at least as much as I share.
