Integrating AI into Your Association’s Education Workflow
Looking for ways your association can improve the learning opportunities you provide to members? At our July 16 Associations Trends Talk, Ewald Consulting Directors of Professional Development Jessica Truhler and Danial Davis offered advice for how associations can use AI to create new professional development opportunities or improve on existing learning programs. Here are some of their top tips.
Data Readiness
AI can handle an incredible array of tasks, from developing outlines for a learning program, generating marketing content or suggesting learning paths. It’s also great at handling repetitive tasks, thereby freeing up people’s time so we can use our uniquely human skills (such as empathy, creativity and context). But AI has limitations. For instance, many certification and credentialing bodies have restrictions on the ways AI can be used.
AI is only as smart as the data it’s trained on. Ask these key questions when determining how to use AI:
- What data do we already have? (e.g., completion rates, assessment scores, job roles, behavioral data)
- Where is the data stored?
- Do we have permission to use this data?
Human-in-the-Loop Design
AI can help improve accessibility by translating material into a different language or creating transcription that can be used to create subtitles. But this information still needs to be reviewed by subject matter experts or people who natively speak the translated language to ensure accuracy.
Key considerations for keeping humans in the loop:
- Identify which decisions must remain human-led.
- Train staff on ethical and effective AI use.
- Automate with intention—not just for the sake of automation.
Tool Selection and LMS Integration
Many AI tools are available already, and many of the Learning Management Systems (LMSs) on the market are integrating AI. To begin your journey, choose tools that are easy to implement and align with your existing systems, provide high value to members and have a low risk. Try a pilot program with a select group of volunteers to ensure that all elements of the program are working as envisioned before a full launch.
Governance and Ethical Considerations
However you decide to use AI at your association, you need clear policies — about who can use it and how it’s used. AI-generated content needs to be labelled as such. If you’re feeding in proprietary information to an AI system, you need to be sure that appropriate privacy settings are in place.
Set Clear Boundaries:
- Define acceptable AI use with a formal AI Use Policy.
- Establish review processes for AI-generated content.
- Monitor AI for bias and inaccuracies.
Transparency:
- Label AI-generated content.
- Remind stakeholders AI isn’t always accurate.
Track Your Success
Use metrics to track your success. Choose just two or three measures to begin with rather than trying to measure everything. Focus on the metrics that matter most to your organization:
- Engagement
- Chatbot response rates
- Retention
- Course completion
- Learner return rates
- Skill gains
- Mastery improvements
- Advancement outcomes
- Time saved in content creation
Conclusion
When staff and volunteers have competing demands on their time, AI can help streamline your processes and automate some repetitive tasks. To use it effectively, association leaders need to keep three guiding questions in mind: What problem are we trying to solve? Will AI help solve it in a meaningful way? Are we maintaining authenticity in our learning experience? By focusing on these questions and emphasizing that AI supports people rather than replacing them, we can continue to improve the learner experience for our association education programs.