Thought Chief Q&A: Dimitris Tolis

Shifting From Static eLearning And AI-Generated Content material To Competency-Pushed Studying Experiences

With greater than 25 years of expertise in Studying and Improvement, Dimitris Tolis is the Founder and CEO of Human Asset, the place he has led the design of customized eLearning, studying academies, and AI-powered studying options for European companies comparable to EUAA, CEPOL, EUDA, and worldwide organizations, such because the Council of Europe, ESM, United Nations ITU. As a Senior Tutorial Designer, Licensed Government Coach, and AI Researcher on the College of Turku Finland, he brings collectively Tutorial Design, neuroscience, and academic know-how to create studying experiences which can be extra human-centered, adaptive, and practice-based. By means of initiatives comparable to gAImify Hub, he’s serving to shift the dialog from quicker content material manufacturing to extra significant studying design. At present, he speaks with us in regards to the alternatives, dangers, and way forward for AI in office studying.

Based mostly in your expertise, what are the dangers of present AI use in studying, and the way can they hinder significant L&D journeys?

One of many largest dangers is that AI is fixing the incorrect drawback in studying. It helps us create content material quicker, however velocity alone doesn’t enhance studying. As an alternative, it may result in content material mediocrity at scale: extra slides, quizzes, and modules, however with weaker tutorial depth, much less originality, and a poorer learner expertise. It may well additionally create what I name a “little God” impact: the phantasm that as a result of content material may be generated immediately, significant studying has additionally been designed. With out robust Tutorial Design, this rapidly results in content material inflation and decrease high quality.

A second threat is cognitive offloading mixed with overdependence on AI. When learners obtain immediate solutions, simplified summaries, and predictable suggestions, they could have interaction much less deeply. Essential pondering, reflection, and judgment can weaken over time, as we already discover taking place.

One other severe threat is AI hallucination. Massive language fashions can produce outputs that sound fluent, assured, and credible, even when they’re inaccurate, deceptive, or fully false. In a studying context, that’s particularly harmful, as a result of learners could belief the reply just because it’s effectively written. If that is mixed with weak overview processes, poor prompts, or no tutorial guardrails, AI can unfold confusion quite than help understanding.

So significant L&D journeys may be hindered when AI makes studying quicker but in addition flatter.

My view is optimistic, although: these should not causes to step again from AI. They’re causes to design it higher.

What are among the most missed alternatives for AI in studying, and why ought to organizations shift from content material technology to significant studying expertise design when implementing this rising know-how?

One of the crucial missed alternatives is that AI may also help us transfer from data supply to functionality constructing. Most organisations nonetheless use AI primarily to generate content material quicker. Nonetheless, the actual worth lies in designing studying experiences which can be extra adaptive, extra contextual, and extra practice-based.

An excellent instance is the function of adaptive quizzes. Too typically, quizzes merely examine recall. With AI, they’ll grow to be a part of the educational course of itself. The extent of problem can shift dynamically, weaker areas may be bolstered, and customized suggestions can information the learner ahead. That makes quiz follow extra developmental and far nearer to actual studying.

One other main alternative is open-ended follow with personalised suggestions. Many necessary office expertise, comparable to interviewing, giving suggestions, teaching, dealing with battle, and so forth., can’t be developed by way of multiple-choice questions alone. Learners want to reply in their very own phrases, make judgements, and replicate on their selections. AI can help this by way of AI teaching personas that present extra focused suggestions on readability, reasoning, empathy, tone, and intent.

This issues as a result of significant studying isn’t created by making issues simpler. It’s created by providing the fitting problem with the fitting help. Aristotle’s perception nonetheless holds true: studying requires effort. Actual studying and improvement occur when learners are challenged. And Bloom’s 2 Sigma analysis reminds us of the worth of personalised steerage. AI provides us an opportunity to carry each collectively at scale for the primary time in human historical past.

Lastly, AI creates an necessary alternative for customisation. As an alternative of one-size-fits-all coaching, studying may be formed across the organisation, the function, the competencies, and the context. That’s the reason organisations ought to shift from content material technology to significant studying expertise design.

What’s the significance of human-centered AI and human-in-the-loop approaches when constructing competency-driven studying experiences?

Hallucinations, the black-box nature of LLMs, and what I typically name the “immediate and pray” strategy are precisely what make AI dangerous in studying. If we merely ask a mannequin to generate content material, suggestions, or evaluation with out robust construction, we could get outputs that sound fluent and convincing, however should not essentially correct, related, or pedagogically sound.

That’s the reason human-centred AI and human-in-the-loop are so necessary, particularly in competency-driven studying. They assist transfer AI from improvisation to disciplined design.

With the fitting structure, we will hold AI centered by way of particular competency frameworks, grading rubrics, clear tutorial objectives, guardrails, and moderation logic, and naturally, human overview and approval. This makes a serious distinction. As an alternative of letting AI wander, we information it towards what issues: the abilities, behaviours, and requirements we truly need learners to develop.

In sensible phrases, meaning AI can help the expertise by producing follow, suggestions, and adaptation, whereas people stay liable for high quality, alignment, and belief. The result’s a studying setting that’s extra dependable, extra clear, and extra developmentally significant.

For me, that is the actual worth of a human-centred strategy: it makes AI extra reliable, but in addition extra helpful. It permits us to profit from velocity, responsiveness, and personalisation with out dropping pedagogical integrity. In competency-driven studying, that stability is important.

Are you able to describe a consultant AI-powered studying transformation use case out of your work?

Sure. A consultant instance from our work includes a serious legislation enforcement academy in Europe, the place we’re co-designing an AI-powered Prepare-the-Trainers capability constructing program centered on serving to trainers strengthen their tutorial design and supply expertise.

What makes this case particularly significant is that the course is designed round a twin function: to cut back AI dangers, comparable to hallucinations, overreliance, weak judgment, and poor tutorial use—and on the identical time to unlock AI alternatives in additional personalised, adaptive, and practice-based studying.

The transformation isn’t about including AI on prime of a standard course. It’s about redesigning the educational expertise itself. We’re utilizing AI-assisted course design with structured templates, customisation to the academy’s context and coach roles, adaptive quizzes that help follow quite than easy recall, open-ended situations with coaching-style suggestions, and AI avatar simulations that enable trainers to rehearse sensible conversations and facilitation moments. We additionally use competency frameworks, rubrics, and human-in-the-loop overview to maintain the expertise reliable and aligned with the academy’s requirements.

What I discover most enjoyable is that this sort of mission strikes AI from content material technology to functionality constructing. For me, that may be a very robust instance of AI-powered studying transformation: not quicker content material, however higher studying design.

Is there a current improvement mission, product launch, or one other initiative you’d wish to share with our readers?

Sure, I’d be very glad to share gAImify Hub, certainly one of our most necessary current initiatives at Human Asset.

gAImify Hub is our AI-powered, gamified studying platform designed to assist organisations create studying that’s extra adaptive, extra practice-based, and extra carefully linked to actual office efficiency. What makes it particularly necessary to us is that it displays a really deliberate philosophy: AI shouldn’t merely assist us produce content material quicker. It ought to assist us design higher studying experiences.

The platform brings collectively AI-assisted course design, contextual customisation across the organisation and the function, adaptive quizzes, open-ended situations with coaching-style suggestions, real-time AI avatar simulations, and gamified studying journeys. So as an alternative of counting on static eLearning alone, organisations can create experiences the place learners suppose, reply, practise, replicate, and enhance.

A key a part of the innovation can also be the human-in-the-loop strategy. AI helps the design and the learner expertise, however studying professionals stay answerable for overview, refinement, and approval. For us, that’s important. It retains the expertise extra reliable, extra related, and extra aligned with actual studying objectives.

Simply as importantly, gAImify Hub has been designed with a powerful emphasis on moral AI and compliance. That features accountable use of AI, clear human oversight, and a spotlight to necessities round information safety, belief, and governance, together with GDPR and broader Authorized readiness. We see this as a crucial basis for innovation in studying, not as an afterthought.

These improvements may be utilized in two methods: construct new adaptive studying experiences with gAImify Hub or improve current SCORM programs with inSCORM AI.

What do you suppose the long run holds for AI in adaptive studying academies?

I imagine the way forward for AI in adaptive studying academies is extraordinarily promising, however it would rely on the alternatives we make now. The way forward for AI in training won’t be determined by who produces essentially the most content material, however by who designs essentially the most significant studying.

The strongest academies will use AI to maneuver past static programs and create studying ecosystems which can be extra adaptive, extra practice-based, and extra linked to actual functionality improvement. They won’t merely ship data. They are going to assist learners suppose, practise, replicate, obtain suggestions, and enhance over time.

For me, one precept is important: AI ought to make studying more difficult and fascinating, not simpler within the incorrect manner. It shouldn’t scale back effort or encourage passive dependence. It ought to assist create the correct of problem, with the fitting help, on the proper second. That’s the place adaptive studying turns into really highly effective.

I additionally imagine academies will grow to be rather more clever in how they reply to learners. We are going to see stronger use of adaptive evaluation, open-ended situations, simulation-based follow, and suggestions loops that make improvement extra seen and extra personalised.

On the identical time, one of the best academies will stay deeply human-centred. They are going to mix AI with robust pedagogical design, moral guardrails, and human judgment.

So, I’m optimistic. I feel AI provides academies an actual alternative to evolve from content material libraries into dwelling environments for progress, reflection, and efficiency. That, to me, is the extra inspiring future.

Wrapping Up

Thanks a lot to Dimitris Tolis for sharing his insights on the potential dangers and alternatives of utilizing AI to create customized, adaptive studying experiences. If you would like to delve deeper into this subject, try Human Asset’s information, AI in Office Studying: From Content material Technology to Significant Studying Design.