The Learning Application Gap
Where AI is hindering learning & what to do about it
The session | 10:45 – 11:15 AM, Seminar Theatre 4
At World of Learning 2026, Attensi’s Rich Angus asks what happens to learning when AI removes the friction – and what L&D can do to close the gap between finding the answer and being able to use it.
AI has made knowledge retrieval almost effortless. Ask a question, get an answer, move on. For most of what we do at work, that’s a straightforward gain.
But learning was never about access to information. It was about doing something difficult – getting it wrong, working out why, and going again. The effort wasn’t a flaw in the process. It was the process.
So when we remove the friction, what goes with it?
This session takes that question seriously without landing on “AI is bad for learning” – that’s lazy, and it isn’t what the evidence says. The more useful question is where AI genuinely accelerates learning, where it quietly substitutes for it, and how you can tell the difference in your own programmes.
What we’ll cover:
- What the research actually shows. The emerging evidence on AI, retention and critical thinking – including where it’s been overstated.
- Where AI helps and where it costs you. The same tool can accelerate learning or hollow it out, depending on where you put it in the process.
- Closing the gap. Practical ways to rebuild productive friction into learning design, so people don’t just have the answer – they can use it under pressure.
