Day 2 of ATD: AI doesn't mean always inclusive!

Advantexe is pleased to share with our Learning & Development colleagues our thoughts and insights from the floor of the ATD International Exposition and Conference. Each day we will share three megatrends and provide some insights and observations.

Day 2

1) Understanding the inherent bias of AI

@tarynfoye, Advantexe’s Director of Business Leadership Solutions attended an informative session on the interesting and potentially harmful impacts of the current way AI talent development solutions are being developed.

Here are some interesting facts:

• 12% of AI researchers in 2020 were women
• 80% of AI professors are men

The implications of these data are profound. As AI continues to proliferate in the world of talent development key stakeholders and decision-makers need to understand that it all has built-in inherent bias. As we know, all humans have implicit bias and if humans feed data to AI engines, the AI data is inherently biased.

Here are a few thoughts on the impact and implications of these AI-supported biases:

Social and Ethical:

• Discrimination - Biased AI can reinforce and amplify existing prejudices
• Inequality – AI systems used in assessments, training, and development can perpetuate inequalities if they are biased against certain groups.

Economic:

• Market Competition: Businesses relying on biased AI may make poor decisions, affecting their competitiveness. What if a biased AI Marketing algorithm alienates an important segment of the customer base leading to reduced revenue and profit?
• Financial and Capital Decision-Making: Businesses relying on AI may make poor decisions impacting their financial and capital decision-making. What if a biased AI Operations algorithm recommends deploying a new factory in a traditional homogeneous location as opposed to a diverse location that could be more efficient and drive more profit?

HR, Legal, and Compliance:

• Compliance: Companies using biased AI risk violating anti-discrimination laws, which can lead to legal challenges, fines, and reputational damage.
• Promotions and Opportunities for Growth Companies relying on AI for identifying candidates to participate in high-potential training programs and promotions based on performance in training and on the job will face tremendous scrutiny internally and externally.
• People with Disabilities; AI isn't always designed with accessibility in mind.

Part 1 Summary

One of the best things shared in this session was, “Growth happens outside of the comfort zone.” That’s the good news. The bad news in AI systems are only as good as the training they receive. If you are becoming involved with AI, have a clear idea of the WHY behind using AI.

2) Better Breaks, Better Learning

The second session @tarynfoy went to was a discussion on insights and observations related to distracted minds in learning. The data is conclusive in determining that a significant majority of people can’t be effective in learning when they are multi-tasking so the learning we do, both in-person and virtually, must be structured in a way to optimize focus.

Attention Management Instead of Time Management

Learning solution designers need to have a new paradigm based on the understanding that learning must happen when there's attentional capacity. In other words, distractions must be removed from the learning environment. Here are a few ideas on how to do that:

• Organize tech breaks
• Set up smaller groups which are best for shared learning experiences

These small tips help re-build memory and build brain connections which give learners something tangible to do with the information they receive 

The “B3” Philosophy

One of Taryn’s ideas coming from the session is the “B3” which stands for Business, Bio, Brain break every two hours. Doing this will engage the human body in better learning.

Another suggestion as part of the B3 philosophy is to always connect to the why to the learning. To be effective and to process through the Business, Bio, and brain break it is critical for all training to explain why this training is important to each participant’s role.

The third suggestion is to limit access to the infinite resource of knowledge available. Think about organizations that purchase those libraries of courses that are infinite in breadth. What is the usage? We all know it is a very small percentage. if we know info is always available, we are much less likely to pay attention or retain the information. If that information is limited, it creates a sense of urgency. 

Come prepared - we experienced more people coming to the booth with a plan. They did some research prior to coming where they identified vendors to visit based on their learning needs. Typically, booth engagement is more organic: drawing people in with eye-catching designs or giveaways. This year, more people attended with a plan - who can meet XYZ's learning needs? And they made a bee-line to us.