10 questions to ask vendors about AI

📨 Subscribe | 🤖 AI Training | 🚀 Courses

Today’s Thoughts ☠️

Ahoy there 👋,

Conference season is upon us, friend.

This time of year feels like a version of the Hunger Games. You continually find yourself trying to vet potential suppliers on the sea of the conference room floor.

This year the biggest word will no doubt be “AI-Powered”.

But, how do you know if tools are really AI-powered? That’s what we’ll explore today.

I’ve crafted 10 questions to ask vendors about AI so you’re not hoodwinked at your next conference. No one wants to make costly tech decisions. This will help you avoid that.

Get your tea or beverage of choice ready, 🍵.

We've got lots to discuss!

In today’s chat👇

• 📝 10 questions to ask vendors about AI so you don’t make costly tech purchases

• 💡 5 valuable insights from the LinkedIn Learning 2024 report for L&D leaders

Est reading time: 8 mins

TOGETHER WITH THE AI CRASH COURSE FOR L&D

Can you help me make sense of all this AI stuff for L&D?

Yes, I can.

I can't reach everyone individually, but I can give you 2 hours in the digital realm to help you go from clueless to confident with AI.

You might feel confused about the whole AI thing right now.

A lot of people still are. I want to help you become smarter this year to accelerate your skills and career.

→ I’ve helped over 300 + L&D pros leverage AI in their work today, and you can join them.

You don't get a certificate, it's not going to make you rich and it won't teach you how to get AI to run your entire life. BUT!, it will help you be more confident with AI in L&D and cut through the BS with the know-how and tools that matter.

THE BIG THOUGHT
10 questions to ask vendors about AI so you don’t make costly tech purchases 📝

There's a lot of jargon out there, friend.

Being able to cut through the noise and get the facts is a beautiful but hard task.

I’m sure many of you have been burned with multi-year contracts from vendors with platforms that never fulfilled their potential.

A little research and preparation can go a long way.

As conference season is upon us, you’ll be spending time with a lot of suppliers. Some good, others bad and some down right weird. The big word will of course be “AI”.

Knowing the fundamentals of Gen AI tech will help you make those sales people work for their money.

You’d be wise to ask learn tech vendors these questions to understand their (real) AI capabilities:

Bonus conversation points

We need to ask are your capabilities added on, built in or built on AI?

The below image comes from the team at the Josh Bersin Company. It’s a useful framing to get clear on tech that is called “AI”.

The 3 categories of AI solutions you need to know

Josh introduces a clear distinction between emerging, first-generation, and second-generation AI solutions.

While first-generation focuses on adding AI functionalities, second-generation solutions are built upon AI from the ground up, providing a more integrated and advanced experience.

1. Emerging AI

2. First Generation (AI Added On)

3. Second Generation (AI Built In)

Note: While terms like 'first-generation' and 'second-generation' AI can help frame discussions, it's crucial to understand that AI development is continuous and complex. It encompasses a range of technologies from basic automation to advanced neural networks and generative AI.

Here’s what each of these look like today:

Emerging AI (Added on)

This includes tech like predictive analytics, natural language processing, intelligent chat, image generation, and generative AI. All the good stuff currently blasted across your social feeds.

These are bolt-on AI features.

First Generation (AI Built-In)

This encompasses machine learning, predictive analytics with external data, advanced candidate matching, and content recommendations, with examples being platforms like Workday, LinkedIn, Cornerstone, and SAP.

Second Generation (Pure AI)

This is all about large language models, neural networks, vector databases, external data, and advanced models (ya know, the smart stuff). These are “next generation” systems that are built for AI from the ground up.

You could say these are pure AI solutions.

Understanding whether a solution is 'added on' or 'built in' helps determine how seamlessly it will integrate with your existing systems and workflows.

Get clear on where the product stands in this

The nerds notebook on Generative AI

Generative AI sits under the Machine Learning family which falls under the huge blanket of the term “Artificial Intelligence”. It aligns with aspects of machine learning (ML) and, in some cases, natural language processing (NLP) and computer vision.

It’s specifically designed to create new content, whether text, images, or other forms of media.

It leverages patterns and structures in the data it has been trained on to generate novel outputs, distinguishing it from other AI technologies that primarily analyse or interpret data.

Got that? Cool.

Here’s how it comes together:

1. Machine Learning (ML): Generative AI mainly stems from advanced machine learning techniques. It can generate new content, from text and images to music and code. All based on the large datasets they have been trained on.
   
   

2. Natural Language Processing (NLP): In the realm of text, generative AI employs NLP techniques to understand and produce human-like text. It’s behind technologies like chatbots, content generation tools, and advanced language models like OpenAI's GPT series.
   
   

3. Computer Vision: When applied to image and video generation, generative AI uses computer vision to understand visual content and create new images or videos that mimic the style of the input data. Now you know where all those digital art profile avatars come from.

What’s not Gen AI and you probably already have

Despite our killer 10 questions.

You will no doubt be greeted with the classic “sales speak” replies from a cheatsheet. So, we need to devise our own cheatsheet.

Here it is:

If someone says we have machine learning capabilities. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s Generative AI. The machine learning family is vast. Gen AI is only a part of that family.

You’re exposed to other elements of ML in your everyday applications.

ML powers the recommendation systems you find in streaming services like Netflix. It also lives in many LXPs. This is how these platforms know what you like, don’t like and might be interested in. The more you use these platforms the more the algorithm learns about you.

Scary, yet essential to get what you want.

→ Another common ML technique is predictive analytics.

This analyses historical data to identify patterns. The goal of predictive AI is to make forecasts, predictions, and decisions based on these identified patterns.

You’ve probably seen this in apps you use.

One of my all time favourite applications of ML is with intelligent search.

Users can find relevant content by asking natural language questions. Which are everyday questions we might ask an LXP:

• What are the best feedback practices as a senior leader?

• How do I create my first career development plan?

The ML models powering search understand the context and intent behind the user's query to surface the most appropriate learning resources.

Pretty cool.

But…

This is not generative AI.

Although cool, it’s tech you already have and are used to. Don’t get caught out here. Ask questions to get straight answers.

Sales people aren’t villains.

They can only best help you by getting asked the right questions. The point of sharing this is not to vilify sales teams. It’s to help them and you make the right decisions when it comes to new tech.

You don’t want to be stuck with something that doesn’t work, and I’m pretty sure, a supplier doesn’t want that either.

So, be smart, take these questions with you and in the famous words of the Hunger Games “May the odds be forever in your favour”.

[As a little bonus, here’s 9 critical questions L&D teams should ask about using Gen AI tools for learning and performance in the workplace]

Prompt playground: Try it yourself

Copy and paste this into your AI assistant of choice to experiment.

# Context

I'm a learning and development manager looking to evaluate the latest learning technology. I'm attending a number of conferences over the next few months where suppliers will try to sell me their products.

I want to be prepared by understanding the best questions I can ask about their product generative AI and larger AI capabilities.

# Task

Your task is to suggest no more than 10 questions I should ask as part of a validation process with sales people on their products generative AI capabilities.

These should be clear and easy for me to understand as a beginner in the world of generative AI.

Final Thoughts

1. Do your own research
   

2. Ask relevant questions
   

3. Find suppliers who can be partners

→ Get more guidance on how to make better learning tech decisions here.

[Special thanks to Nick-Shackleton Jones and Peter Manniche Riber for bouncing around ideas with me for these 10 questions]

If you’re reading this and thinking “I want to make better AI tech decisions”.

I can help you with that. Learn more about my no-fluff AI upskilling services for Business (or please recommend me to a friend 😉).

I hope this helps.

How I can help you

1. My L&D toolkit stack + AI For L&D Lab with 50 zero-cost tools.
   
   

2. Work smarter with AI in L&D with my Crash Course: A 2-hour AI Crash Course for Next-Gen L&D Professionals. Join 300 + students to future-proof your skills and work smarter with practical use cases in L&D.
   
   → Access all courses at the STT Dojo.
   
   

3. Join The Cult of Thoughts 🏴‍☠️: Get access to exclusive deep dives, events and perks with our premium membership - The Cult of Thoughts 🏴‍☠️. Your investment gets you more great content and helps me keep doing this for you until the world’s tea supply runs out.
   
   

   → Exclusive subscriber-only Monthly newsletter

   → Private catalogue of toolkits and insights

   → Workshops, events and perks
   
   

4. Stalk me on LinkedIn for daily insights, tools and frameworks for modern L&D pros.

SMART THOUGHTS

Stuff that caught my eye this week.

🤔  5 valuable insights from the LinkedIn Learning 2024 report for L&D leaders

Fresh from this months Cult of Thoughts (premium membership) drop.

I walk through 5 insights worth your time to explore or debunk from the latest LI learning report. Check it out.

💡 Why the art of sales is useful for L&D

The art of selling is something you do a lot more than you know. It’s incredibly useful because we’re in the business of influencing people to make change.

From courses to events, we are trying to sell tickets to those shows.

Learn how you can wield some of this dark magic.

🔥  10 unsung digital ideas shaping work

AI isn’t the only game in town.

Our world is full of digital tech. These 10 ideas are shaped by those advancements. My favourites are 1, 5, 6 and 9.

Check them out and let me know what yours are by hitting ‘reply to this email.

Want to reach over 3,000 L&D pros?

Learn how you can sponsor the newsletter