I've been in L&D long enough to remember when LXPs were going to replace the LMS. Then my regulatory auditors showed up and asked for data and records. Now AI-powered tools are making big promises. And I'm genuinely excited about them. But I keep coming back to a few uncomfortable questions.

In 2016, the World Economic Forum declared the arrival of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and warned that millions of workers would need to be reskilled. The corporate world responded with a flood of learning platforms, skills taxonomies, capability academies, and upskilling pledges. Billions were spent. Progress was made — but slowly, unevenly, and never quite at the pace the moment demanded. Then generative AI arrived. Every organization began investing in it to chase the