The annual L&D Global Sentiment Survey was created by the Learning Technologies Conference Chair, Donald H Taylor. The Learning & Development community are asked to pick which 3 L&D topics out of 16 that they think will be popular and relevant to the industry. This year’s edition not only featured a new topic, but also an influence from OpenAI’s ChatGPT released just 8 days prior.

 

‘In some ways, it is as if the pandemic never happened. The rise in interest in collaborative learning seen in 2021 and 2022 has evaporated, replaced by a fascination with the use of data in L&D.’ – Donald H Taylor on LinkedIn. The results of the 2023 Global Sentiment Survey contrast largely with last year’s, with the numbers showing a distinct resemblance to 2019’s, pre-pandemic.

 

Artificial Intelligence: resolution or illusion?

The Metaverse is everywhere. From the ongoing debate about the use of ChatGPT, to VR headsets appearing online as much as smartwatches, it’s certainly been talked about a lot. However, the jump AI took from #12 in last year’s survey to #2 now, is astonishing. OpenAI launched the AI-driven chat bot ChatGPT on 30 November 2022, with the GSS23 opening just over a week later. This caused the biggest surge in position of any topic since 2018, with that also being AI taking the jump. Despite AI being at #12 last year, it still was on the increase by 4.7%, so the interest in this topic came before OpenAI’s big release.

 

But what does this say about Artificial Intelligence in the 2023 L&D landscape? The goal of this survey is to get the opinions of the L&D community on ‘What will be hot in workplace L&D in 2023’, and this year’s predictions are particularly in favour of AI. I think most of the L&D community can agree this topic will be discussed at large-scale L&D events, as well as in blogs and the general online space – but whether people believe in AI’s mission to help L&D is another story.

 

If you’re even the slightest bit curious about the new wave of AI – be sure to explore the Learning Technologies 2023 Conference Programme. On 3-4 May this year, a range of our conference speakers will be debating and discussing the power of AI, as well as the obstacles it will inevitably face. You won’t want to miss Donald Clark’s session ‘Artificial Intelligence changes everything in L&D’, chaired by Andy Wooler, featuring an analysis of how AI affects learning design and delivery, with the current developments to prove it.

 

New year, new challenges?

The survey dives a bit deeper to see what’s going on in people’s L&D teams and organisations. An optional question this year was ‘What is your biggest L&D challenge in 2023?’, with a free text answer to gain the best insight into this as possible. Out of all participants, 40% responded to this question, with some changes from the previous year. Far less people are concerned about the impact and challenge of adapting post-pandemic, which is a positive sign that the L&D community are moving on. But, of course, where one challenge evaporates another takes its place.

 

There was much more mention of the challenges around workplace value this year. Resurrecting an L&D culture can be a post-pandemic trial in the workplace, with more pressure to express value in employees following the demanding years of Covid-19. At the Learning Technologies Conference this year, Nigel Paine will chair a session on ‘Building a great L&D practice aligned to organisational goals - a practical guide’. Speakers Helen Robinson and Fernanda Falci will explore the importance of empowering employees with self-led learning, and how to link L&D to both individual and corporate aims.

 

Stay tuned for the full GSS23 Report

The full report of the Global Sentiment Survey 2023 results will be released later this month, with further analysis of the data following thereafter. Make sure to watch this space to stay up-to-date about all that’s happening with Learning Technologies this year, and find out more from Donald H Taylor’s survey here.