AI Literacy and the Future of Learning & Development
Why Every Everyone Needs to Understand Human-Centered AI
The corporate landscape is shifting as AI changes business practices and employee reskilling becomes more important with implications for for learning and development teams. According to McKinsey's latest State of AI report, 78% of organizations now use AI in at least one business function, yet most companies are still struggling to capture meaningful value. The difference isn't just about technology—it's about people and their relationship with AI.
As Fei-Fei Li, Stanford's renowned AI researcher and co-director of the Human-Centered AI Institute, warns: "The difference between those who understand how to use AI and those who do not is going to have extremely profound downstream effects." This isn't hyperbole—it's a reality that's already reshaping careers, industries, and entire economies.
Source: Freepik
The Human-Centered AI Revolution
Li's vision of human-centered AI offers a compelling framework for the corporate world. Rather than viewing AI as a replacement for human intelligence, her approach focuses on "augmenting, not replacing, human contributions" while prioritizing "human dignity and well-being." This philosophy is particularly crucial in corporate environments where the temptation to automate everything can overshadow the nuanced value that human judgment brings to complex business decisions.
The McKinsey data supports this balanced approach. Organizations seeing the greatest impact from AI aren't just implementing technology—they're changing workflows. Twenty-one percent of companies report having "fundamentally redesigned at least some workflows" due to generative AI deployment, and this workflow redesign shows the strongest correlation with bottom-line EBIT impact.
The Challenges of Cognitive Offloading
But here's where corporate leaders need to pay attention: AI literacy isn't just about learning to use tools—it's about understanding when and how to use them without compromising human cognitive capabilities. A recent MIT study using EEG brain scans found that ChatGPT users had the lowest brain engagement.
This phenomenon, called cognitive offloading, presents a double-edged sword for productivity. While AI can handle routine tasks and free up mental resources, the shift from active information seeking to passive consumption of AI-generated content has implications for how we process and evaluate information.
For corporate employees, this means AI literacy must include understanding how to maintain skill development by ensuring that AI assistance doesn't atrophy core analytical competencies or problem-solving.
Building True AI Literacy in the Corporate Context
Implementing comprehensive AI literacy programs should go beyond basic tool training to include:
Strategic thinking: Understanding how AI fits into broader business objectives and competitive strategy
Risk awareness: Recognizing both the capabilities and limitations of AI systems
Ethical considerations: Applying human-centered principles to ensure AI deployment serves human flourishing
Continuous learning: Staying updated as AI capabilities evolve rapidly
The McKinsey data shows that less than one in five organizations are tracking KPIs for their AI solutions—a critical gap that reflects broader literacy challenges around measurement and evaluation.
Implications for Learning and Development Teams
This AI literacy imperative places Learning and Development (L&D) teams at the center of organizational transformation. The McKinsey data reveals that organizations reskilling employees for AI use 44% of respondents reporting having reskilled 9% stating that they have reskilled more than half of all employees. This is expected to increase going forward (p. 12).
L&D teams must navigate several critical challenges:
Designing curriculum that prevents cognitive atrophy: Traditional training focused on tool mastery, but preserving critical thinking skills when introducing AI capabilities will become increasingly vital
Creating role-specific AI literacy programs: The McKinsey report shows that larger organizations are more like to have "role-based capability training courses" (31%) compared with smaller businesses (17%) (p.9). This is a gap that L&D teams are uniquely positioned to fill
Measuring learning effectiveness in the AI era: With cognitive offloading masking actual skill development, L&D teams need new assessment methods to test genuine understanding
Balancing efficiency with development: While AI can accelerate certain learning processes, L&D teams must ensure that shortcuts don't undermine the deep learning necessary for complex problem-solving
The Path Forward
The path forward requires L&D teams to fundamentally reimagine their approach to capability building. Traditional training models—focused on skill acquisition—are inadequate for an era where cognitive offloading threatens to undermine the very thinking skills that drive innovation. Instead, L&D must design programs leveraging AI tools that maintain and strengthen human capabilities.
References.
Gibbs, S. (2023, Oct 17). The godmother of AI: A conversation with Fei-Fei Li. Issues in Science and Technology. https://issues.org/interview-godmother-ai-fei-fei-li/
Izadi, E. (2024, Sept 6). AI is coming for the classroom. Teachers aren’t sure if they’re ready. Time. https://time.com/7295195/ai-chatgpt-google-learning-school/
Kosmyna, N., Hauptmann, E., Yuan, Y., Situ, J., Liao, X., Beresnitzky, A., Braunstein, I., Maes, P. (2025, June 10). Your brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of cognitive debt when using an AI assistant for essay writing task [Preprint]. MIT Media Lab. arXiv. https://arxiv.org/pdf/2506.08872
Li, F.-F. (2023). The worlds I see: Curiosity, exploration, and discovery. Flatiron Books. https://www.amazon.com/Worlds-See-Curiosity-Exploration-Discovery/dp/B0BSP29SQ4/
Singla, A., Sukharevsky, A., Yee, L., Chui, M., & Hall, B. (2025, Mar). The state of AI: How organizations are rewiring to capture value. McKinsey & Company. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/a-generative-ai-reset-rewiring-to-turn-potential-into-value-in-2024
Written with the help of Claude.ai from Anthropic. All data fact checked for accuracy and free from AI hallucinations. I have read all sources referenced.