Will AI Replace IDs?
By Lea Binderup
Manager of Learning Technology and Strategy
In 2023, I published a post on this blog that tried to answer a question I’d been asked about my profession more than any other: “What exactly does an instructional designer do?”
How times have changed! These days, a different and more difficult question has easily become the one I hear most: “Will AI replace you?”
The shift is understandable. Like many industries, learning and development (L&D) has experienced an explosion of interest in artificial intelligence (AI). New tools appear almost daily, each promising to create training faster, cheaper, and with less effort than ever before.
This technology is undeniably impressive. But will it replace human designers, such as myself, who are wondering where we will fit in the future of our industry?
My short answer is an unequivocal no … and (in some ways) yes. AI will continue to transform the role of IDs but not eliminate it. In fact, I believe AI has highlighted exactly how indispensable we humans are to the learning process.
The Role of AI in Training
Before we can understand the lasting value of human designers, we must first acknowledge 2 areas that AI excels in and how those are having an incredible impact on how IDs work.
- AI is fast. Tasks that once required days of development can now be completed in a matter of minutes. Whether it is researching content, writing or editing a script, or brainstorming a workshop activity, AI can provide dozens of possibilities almost instantly.
- AI is remarkable at identifying patterns and connections. It can process enormous amounts of information, recognize relationships, and organize content in ways that would have been impossible just a few years ago.
Still, AI’s greatest strengths also reveal its significant limitations. While AI excels at analyzing data and generating content, it cannot apply experience, perspective, or empathy to what it produces. What has become clear is that a major challenge of AI in L&D isn’t speed or capability. It’s a matter of trust.
Why AI Is Not Enough
In life sciences training, accuracy is critical. At first glance, AI-generated content looks incredibly polished with its perfect grammar and infinite vocabulary. But looking correct and being correct are not the same thing.
Most of us have experienced an unreliable source, hallucinated reference, or incorrect interpretation that caused us to lose a level of trust with AI content. This question of trust is a huge issue of compliance in regulated industries, such as ours, that require careful, concise content and clear documentation of sources.
There is also a human side of trust to consider. Learners are more likely to engage with and apply training when it empathizes with their real-world challenges, shows the value in their actions, and provides inspiration. AI falls short because it can’t truly experience our world.
The Human Advantage
So, where does that leave us IDs? Not replaced, but recentered. As AI accelerates the creation of content, our role must focus on those elements that cannot be automated, including:
- Empathy: Anticipating the learner’s needs and experience is not just a “nice to have.” It shapes everything from scope to scenarios to how assessments are constructed. Effective training begins with getting to know the learner. It allows us to design experiences that they trust to be valuable and realistic. While AI may be able to generate content about people and for people, only a human can truly identify with people.
- Ethics: Effective learning design requires more than gathering and organizing information. Designers consider how content may be interpreted, whether it contains bias or possible discrimination, and how it aligns with organizational values and responsibilities. While AI can support content creation, it lacks the judgment, morals, and sense of accountability we bring to every learning opportunity.
- Cultural Awareness: Increasingly, organizations include team members from around the globe. Simply translating the language in established training materials is not enough to keep them effective across diverse audiences. Slang phrases, metaphors, visuals, and messages that resonate in one place may cause confusion or be offensive in another. Cultural awareness involves understanding traditions, ancestry, communication styles, social expectations, and local norms. This level of translation requires human insight that goes far beyond word choice.
The Enduring Role of IDs
In the years ahead, AI will only ingrain itself more and more into our daily lives. This, however, should not make IDs obsolete. In fact, I believe it will free us to focus on those areas where we deliver the greatest value.
Before AI, the average ID spent much of their time creating and organizing content. Today, AI can help accelerate many of these tasks. As a result, our role has become more strategic. We verify if information can be trusted, identify gaps, determine how learners need to apply their new knowledge, and develop creative ways to support them through their growth.
Though AI is revolutionizing how we do our work, our foundational goal remains unchanged. Instructional design has always focused on supporting learners’ personal and professional growth by helping them perform better, make informed decisions, and apply knowledge in ways that are meaningful to them. This will always demand more than information and data. It calls for empathy, perception, awareness, and trust. In other words, it requires the very things that make us human.
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Lea Binderup has more than 25 years in the education and training field, including 22 years in instructional design. As the Manager of Learning Technology and Strategy for Encompass, she leads the development and delivery of impactful technology-based training solutions. Lea specializes in informational and visual design, multimedia development, assessment, and learning theory. Lea earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from UNC Charlotte and holds a master’s in instructional design and global media from Appalachian State University.
