Level up: Advanced AI modalities and insights
Our strong AI strategic foundation has created a structurally sound foundation on which to build a programmatic enablement strategy. These include both internal AI capabilities and skills, as well as efficiency.
As we continue to build the AI Pyramid (below), we will deliver strategic foundations and programmatic enablement with highly customized, personalized, and impactful AI experiences that help you achieve performance goals and critical business objectives.
Here at the top of the pyramid is where we leverage advanced modalities and insights to level up the value-add of L&D with highly customized AI, enabling more adaptive and personalized learning experiences and learning paths than ever before, and combining them with immersive learning, voice, and natural language processing (NLP) technologies for maximum impact.
(Want an overview of all three levels of the pyramid? Check out the first article in the series, “AI Adoption: A Story of Three Organizations – and an Opportunity for L&D Leaders.”)
Peak AI: Scalable, high-quality learning for distributed learners
These powerful technologies help extend high-quality, high-touch learning experiences to a wide, globally distributed audience, increasing access to critical skills and future opportunities. But despite its global reach, AI can help make every experience feel specific, relevant, and familiar rather than generic.
As L&D leaders, we can add the most value and prove ingenuity and ROI by leveraging AI to augment the wisdom and expertise of our internal humans. As we explore life at Summit, we discuss how to target interpersonal skills and expand the reach and impact of in-house experts through targeted AI solutions.
This article focuses on two types of advanced modalities and insights.
Custom AI for L&D voice interactions and natural language processing
Custom AI for L&D
We have identified five different roles for custom AI solutions. All of these are designed to meet your specific learning and strategic needs. You may need a single role within your solution, or you may choose to combine functionality from different roles for further customization.
Training the AI trainer: Prompt structure
Just like any other trainer, your custom AI needs to understand its job description, duties, and limitations.
Think of Dynamic AI Prompt Engineering as a digital version of the classic Train the Trainer experience. This deep collaboration between humans and AI includes:
Start with a prompt that details the AI’s role and goals: its perspective and personality as an evaluator, curator, coach, etc. Next, we provide step-by-step instructions detailing the tasks your custom AI is expected to perform. Constraints determine its behavior and how it responds to different learner outputs, and pedagogy determines how it provides feedback to learners for growth and reflection.
This iterative, continuous human validation process ensures that custom AI delivers targeted and effective learning experiences that drive real behavioral change and align with business and performance goals.
Custom AI: Level of complexity
The modular system shown below shows several levels of complexity for each AI role. (Of course, you can also combine roles to create truly bespoke, custom AI solutions.)
Level 1 provides basic features such as automatic scoring by raters and basic content curation by curators.
Level 2 features, such as reflective guidance from a coach and interactive task simulation from a simulator, are more subtle.
Level 3 functions such as skill measurement and behavior analysis by raters and coaches are each more complex and responsive. Assimilator’s legacy knowledge curation feature, which allows learners to interact with the collective wisdom of experienced in-house experts, is another interesting example of a Level 3 feature.
Level 4 represents adaptive capabilities through predictive modeling. Our team is committed to continuous research and development to configure different levels of adaptability and personalization, from individual learning to organization-wide insights.
(See first-hand the role and complexity of two real-world custom AI case studies that deliver truly dynamic and responsive learning experiences in our e-book, The AI Blueprint: Actionable Strategies For L&D Leaders To Reduce, Value Add, and Unlock the Benefits of AI At Scale.)
Voice interaction and natural language processing (NLP)
In the previous section, we touched on the transformative power of AI to create seamless, authentic experiences that deepen learner engagement and mastery. Next, we’ll look under the hood and see how voice interaction and natural language processing (NLP) combined power custom AI that’s truly intuitive and conversational.
Natural language processing (NLP)
The power of natural language processing (NLP) allows learners to receive personalized, actionable feedback that is critical not just of what they say, but how they say it. This deep conversational analysis enables highly nuanced skill development. This is a core strength of the advanced modalities and insights that sit at the top of the AI strategy framework.
emotion
Learners receive live feedback on their tone, speaking pace, and volume, helping them improve their speaking style. Digital listeners become more attentive or receptive based on the speaker’s demeanor and vocal expressions.
intention
The NLP engine analyzes the learner’s vocal responses and interprets the content of the responses against the model. Real-time, responsive interactions add immediacy, urgency, and authenticity to the practice of nuanced interpersonal skills.
word choice
Learners respond vocally and receive real-time coaching on the operational and cultural appropriateness of the words and phrases they choose.
(Want to see how all three—emotion, intent, and word choice—play out in an immersive coaching simulation? Download our ebook, The AI Blueprint: Actionable Strategies for L&D Leaders To Reduce, Value Add, and Unlock the Benefits of AI At Scale.)
Transform data into actionable insights
If a skill is important enough to be coached, simulated, evaluated, etc., then it’s important enough to be measured. And thanks to the rich performance data generated by our solution, which leverages machine learning and the pairing of AI and NLP, deep learning analysis is easy to perform.
Here are just some of the capabilities this data provides your team.
Personalize learning: Track progress and tailor content to individual learner needs and gaps. Content optimization: Analyze data to enhance your training materials. For example, just-in-time materials to guide you through simulations, where many learners get stuck. Skills mapping and auditing: Talent gaps and long-term development needs must be accurately identified and addressed in future learning strategies and roadmaps. Demonstrate ROI: Measure the impact of L&D programs and solutions on business objectives. Ensure AI quality: Continuously analyze the quality and bias of AI-generated content.
AI-powered content generation: Challenges and solutions
Guideline-based approach with SweetRush Content Generator
challenge
Traditional content generation tools rely on iterative chat interfaces where users engage in back-and-forth conversations to shape and refine content. While this approach is suitable for one-time content needs, it can be inefficient when multiple documents with consistent requirements need to be generated.
Solution: Content generation based on guidelines
We have created an internal tool called SweetRush Content Generator. This Google Docs add-on is designed to generate accurate and measurable content through a streamlined, guideline-based approach. We enhance the natural collaboration capabilities of the Google Docs platform while adding powerful AI-driven content generation capabilities.
SweetRush Content Generator has enabled our team to:
Create reusable guidelines: Establish prompts for structure, style, ethics, validation, audience, tone, accessibility standards, regulatory compliance, and other content requirements. Connect your documents intelligently: Use the Google Doc smart chip to link prompts and guideline documents, making it easy to create multiple documents that follow the same guidelines. Generate consistent content: Create multiple documents that follow the same standards of brand consistency and quality with minimal input.
Build Better Prompts: Test, Adjust, and Maintain with TinyRAG
challenge
Struggling with monolithic, theoretical prompts is a pain, as is trying to maintain, share, and coordinate prompts across projects.
The Solution: The Swiss Army Knife for Rapid Development
TinyRAG is a prompt engineering toolkit that provides a mini language for building, testing, tweaking, maintaining, and reusing prompts. Think of it like a Swiss Army knife: compact, versatile, and designed to make your life easier.
TinyRAG provides a systematic way to build, test, and reuse quality prompts, allowing you to create QA tools for different projects, maintain data sets, and evaluate results across different characteristics using the same system without significantly changing your workflow. What really scales is rapid engineering. You can adjust prompts, reuse parts across projects, and iterate quickly without breaking everything.
Are you ready to achieve peak AI in your organization?
These are just a few exciting examples of how advanced modalities can be used to create high-quality, high-touch learning experiences for a wider range of learners than ever before.
To learn more about creating a basic AI strategy or leveraging AI to improve efficiency, productivity, and a sense of shared responsibility across your organization, download our e-book, The AI Blueprint: Actionable Strategies For L&D Leaders To Reduce, Value Add, and Unlock the Benefits of AI At Scale. From secure foundations to peak implementation, you’ll find a comprehensive plan to help you build your AI strategy.
sweet rush
Our job is to help you achieve your goals and succeed. From analytics to custom development (including e-learning, mobile, gamification, and ILT) to evaluation, we’re here to help.
