Injecting The Ghost Into The Machine: Keeping Humanity In AI-Enhanced Learning Design

"In eLearning's embrace of AI, like with our very own learners, there is the understanding that the human comes first. In Machine Learning, this is the human-in-the-loop (HITL), where humans help the machine make the correct decisions. In Instructional Design, this is the understanding that the designer imbues their humanity into their coursework to ensure a relatable, accurate, engaging learning experience, and not merely an efficient production."

"The relationship between AI efficiency and human creativity does not need to be a struggle, but it can be a balance. It need not be adversarial; it can be complementary. AI can accelerate workflows and surface insights, and humans can ensure learning remains meaningful, ethical, and emotionally resonant. Here are a few common concerns a designer faces when working with AI and ways that human-in-the-loop mentality can ensure an immersive and authentic experience for the human learner."

"AI can accelerate production, uncover patterns, and even spark ideas humans may not have seen, but it cannot discern why something matters or for whom it should exist. That is an understanding of the learner and the learner's needs. That interpretive layer (context, empathy, and storytelling) is purely human. The most effective designs use AI as a co-creator, not a replacement, letting the machine generate possibilities while the human shapes purpose and story."

Human-centered eLearning prioritizes the human through human-in-the-loop (HITL), where humans guide machine decisions and instructional designers embed humanity into coursework to ensure relatability, accuracy, and engagement rather than mere production efficiency. AI can accelerate workflows, surface insights, and uncover patterns, but it lacks creative synthesis, original meaning, emotion, and intent. Designers must supply interpretive layers of context, empathy, and storytelling, discerning why content matters and for whom. Effective learning design treats AI as a co-creator that generates possibilities while humans shape purpose, narrative, ethical alignment, and emotional resonance to keep learners motivated and authentic.

Read at eLearning Industry