Is AI a friend or a foe?

Hello, from a blistery cold and snowy Columbus, Ohio. We have at time of writing about 10 inches of snow and it keeps coming down. We took a moment to let our cat Sidious (Sid) enjoy his first snow.

Also before I get into the recap I want to take a moment to directly say I'm sending love to everyone navigating heavy moments right now. Please take care of yourselves and each other: check on your people, offer kindness where you can, and stay safe.

January's recap was written by community member Robin O'Callagan. Thank you for putting this together for us!

AI and Instructional Design: Insights from the 60 Monthly Webinar

The latest AI & ID session hosted by The 60 Monthly brought together 88 participants, including leaders, consultants, and practitioners across industries. The discussion explored the realities, challenges, and opportunities of using AI in learning and development. It was a great opportunity to learn more about how others are incorporating AI into their roles and enhancing training, strategy, and employee development.

There was so much great discussion it’s hard to fit it all into one article, but I wanted to highlight a few things that stood out to me.

Confessions from the Field

Many that attended the session expressed concerns about how leadership sometimes encourages AI use without fully understanding it. However, one participant shared the opposite. She talked about how her team had been leveraging AI for about a year before leadership even recognized it.  

In my role as a Senior Learning and Development Specialist in manufacturing, I often find myself educating leadership on AI, how it works, how to use it effectively, when not to use it, and everything in between. Regardless of the reasons my managers and leadership are interested in AI, whether to save time, generate ideas, or experiment with new tools, I consistently emphasize that having a human in the loop is essential. Without their expertise, knowledge of the audience, and thoughtful evaluation, AI outputs can lack meaning and actionable items. It’s a great tool but it should not be the only thing driving business decisions.

The Real Issue
For this section, we asked what is one reason you feel organizations are clinging to AI like a security blanket?

One common theme under the discussion “The Real Issue” was the fear of being left behind or missing out on the latest innovation if you’re not using AI.  As someone who has worked as an Instructional Designer for more than 15 years in both higher education and corporate environments, I know this scenario all too well.

In higher education, faculty were often drawn to exploring new tools or the latest “shiny” technologies. I learned early on to keep the conversation grounded in the learning goals by asking, “What are you trying to accomplish?” This approach helped them focus on student learning outcomes first, and allowed the choice of tools to naturally follow, rather than leading with the technology. It’s something I keep in mind when using AI.

When AI Works
For this part of the session, participants highlighted their wins. On of my favorite Mural posts was “AI as a brainstorming partner or “phone a friend for ideas”.  I couldn’t agree more. I use AI to help me getting going with an idea or concept. AI can be a great tool for research or creating an outline for a training workshop, but without my expertise, understanding of the audience, clear objectives, and a plan to measure success, it simply can’t deliver effective results alone. AI is most effective when treated as a collaborative partner, not a replacement for a human.

Overall, the session reinforced that AI is a powerful tool for learning and development—but its true value comes when paired with human expertise, thoughtful design, and clear objectives. As learning professionals, our role remains critical: guiding strategy, understanding the audience, and ensuring that every initiative drives meaningful outcomes.

Revisit the conversation by checking out the January Mural

February's topic is Career Development and the invite has went out to those registered with us. If you haven't registered with us yet, please add your email address to our website to get the invite. The session will be February 13, 2026 at 1:00pm ET.

Our Discord is live and open for you to join. This allows us to keep the conversations going and as you join, please make sure you check out the rules channel and acknowledge.

Much like last month, I still have an open call for volunteers around facilitation, community management, and content. If you are interested, reach directly out to Cara North.

Before you go thank you for being part of this.

I know “community” can sound like a big shiny word on the internet. But The Monthly 60 isn’t trying to be that. It’s trying to be something simpler and rarer: a consistent place where L&D people can show up once a month and tell the truth.

Truth like:

• “This isn’t a training problem.”
• “I’m overwhelmed and pretending I’m fine.”
• “We shipped something I’m not proud of.”
• “I don’t know how to measure this, but I know it matters.”

If you read this month’s drop quietly, you still count. If you joined live and stayed on mute, you still count. If you only stole one idea and tried it in the real world honestly? That’s the entire point. Thank you and looking forward to continuing to connect with you on Discord and our monthly Zooms.