In this episode of L&D Disrupt, host Kelsey speaks with Derek Bruce, Chief Learning Officer at Easygenerator, about what's holding L&D back and what the function needs to become next.

Derek argues that learning teams spend too much time creating content instead of making better use of what already exists, and that L&D must become more closely connected to performance, skills, and business priorities by consistently asking one simple question: "So what?" He shares why learning needs to happen quickly and in the flow of work, why managers should be involved throughout the learning journey rather than only at the end, and why measuring application and business impact matters more than completion rates and satisfaction scores.

The conversation also explores AI beyond the hype, covering practical applications for trend analysis, efficiency gains, coaching and practice at scale, and improving learning experiences, while addressing concerns around AI replacing jobs or encouraging shortcuts.

Derek explains why transparency, guardrails, and human expertise remain essential as organisations adopt AI, challenges the growing obsession with overly complex skills taxonomies, and outlines his vision for the future of L&D as a more business-facing, facilitative function embedded across the employee lifecycle.

Derek's hot take for L&D teams? Stop building more content and start solving business problems.

00:00 AI Learning Gaps
01:32 Welcome and Introductions
02:44 What's Wrong With L&D
04:00 Link Learning to Performance
06:17 Managers Enable Application
08:02 AI Beyond the Hype
10:13 AI Cheating and Trust
13:55 Human First AI Second
18:57 Common AI Mistakes
23:04 Protect Entry Level Skills
26:52 Skills Based Organisations
30:11 Reorgs and Future Skills
33:17 Future Role of L&D
35:58 Stop Vanity Metrics
37:42 Closing Thanks

AI Beyond the Hype: What L&D Needs to Get Right About Performance, Skills and the Future of Work | L&D Disrupt | Episode 104

L&amp;D Disrupt

AI Beyond the Hype: What L&D Needs to Get Right About Performance, Skills and the Future of Work | L&D Disrupt | Episode 104

L&D Disrupt