foHRsight: HR, Leadership & the Future of Work

Why Workplace Learning Needs an Existential Reset with Lori Niles-Hofmann

Mark Edgar and Naomi Titleman Episode 179

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0:00 | 34:06

Learning and development has spent decades creating courses, launching platforms, and chasing the next technology trend. But what if the problem isn't the technology at all?

As AI reshapes how people access information, many traditional assumptions about workplace learning are being challenged. Employees no longer need to sit through generic training to find answers. They expect learning to be personalized, contextual, and available exactly when they need it.

In this episode, Lori Niles-Hoffman joins Naomi Titleman Colla to explore why L&D is facing an existential moment, what organizations are getting wrong about skills development, and how AI could fundamentally change the way learning happens at work. Together, they discuss the shift from course creation to intelligent learning ecosystems, why skills management should be treated with the same precision as a supply chain, and how HR leaders can move from order-taking to strategic enablement.

If you're responsible for developing people in an environment where business priorities, technology, and skills requirements are changing faster than ever, this conversation offers a practical and thought-provoking look at what comes next.

Resources & References Mentioned

  • 📘 The Eight Levers of EdTech Transformation by Lori Niles-Hofmann
  • 🌐 8Levers: 8levers.com (note: the "8" is the number, not a "B"!)
  • 🇨🇦 Valence — AI coaching platform, featuring Nadia
  • 🇨🇦 Disco.co — community learning platform (also used by foHRsight+)
  • 📊 Red Thread Research — State of EdTech presentation by Dani Johnson (Learning Technologies, London)
  • 🔬 LearnLM / DeepMind research on human + AI learning outcomes

About Our Guest

Lori Niles-Hofmann is an EdTech strategist, consultant, and author of The Eight Levers of EdTech Transformation. With a career spanning global LMS implementations, instructional design, and organizational learning strategy, Lori brings a rare combination of technical fluency and business acumen to the L&D space. She is the founder of 8Levers and a frequent speaker and writer on the intersection of AI, skills, and workplace learning.

Connect with Lori

  • LinkedIn: search Lori Niles-Hofmann
  • Website: 8levers.com


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If you are looking for more foHRsight, sign up for our monthly foHRsight newsletter. It’s free and includes access to our quarterly white paper. This quarter’s white paper is about Rethinking Entry-Level work in the Age of AI, produced with Dr. Miranda Rodak from Indiana University’s Kelley school of business - an important topic for HR, Leadership and parents, students and society as a whole! https://www.futurefohrward.com/subscribe

Support the show