Learning Café Learning Café
AI and Productivity - From Attention Economy to Productive Economy
Date Friday, Dec 5 Time – Room: Charlottenburg II
AI has flipped the script from technological escapism to practical utility. This session explores how generative AI is already boosting productivity, cutting tasks from hours to minutes, augmenting human expertise, and unlocking efficiencies across sectors. The data shows the gains are real.
Productivity growth is not smooth but spiky. AI transforms some sectors (marketing, healthcare, research) while others lag (education, arts). This session maps the uneven landscape, explaining why adoption is fragmented, where breakthroughs occur, and how we can exploit this jagged edge.
The AI conversation has moved from hopes and fears to practical deployment. We’ll look at how organisations can integrate AI into workflows, measure impact, redesign roles and build ‘AI-first’ strategies.
This talk is based on Donald’s new book AI and Productivity, which is hot off the press, published Nov 3.
Donald Clark
eLearning Expert and Strategist, Plan B Learning
Donald Clark is a Learning Tech Entrepreneur, CEO, Investor, Author, Podcaster, Blogger and Speaker. He was CEO and one of the original founders of Epic Group plc, which established itself as the leading company in the UK online learning market, floated on the Stock Market in 1996 and sold in 2005. He has been involved at all levels of investment – angel, VC, growth, PE and IPO. As well as being the CEO of Wildfire, an AI learning company, he also invests in, and advises, EdTech companies.
An investor and board member of learning companies Cogbooks (sold in 2021 to Cambridge University) and Learning Pool (sold 2021 for $200 million), he was also on the Boards of City & Guilds, Learn Direct, University for Industry and the Brighton Dome and Festival. Wildfire delivers AI products and consultancy. He has published 3 books, on ‘AI for Learning’, ‘Learning Experience Design’ and ‘Learning Technology’. His fourth book on Learning in the Metaverse has just been commissioned.
Donald has over 37 years experience in online learning, video, games, simulations, semantic, adaptive, chatbot, social media, mobile learning, virtual reality, AI and Metaverse projects. He has designed, delivered and advised on online learning for many global, public and private organisations. An evangelist for the use of technology in learning, he has won many awards, including the first ‘Outstanding Achievement in E-learning Award’ and ‘Best AIM Stock Market Company’, ‘Most Innovative Online Product’, ‘Best Online Learning Project and ‘JISC EdTech Award’.
An award winning speaker at national and international conferences, he has delivered keynotes in the UK, Europe, US, Africa, Australia, Middle and Far East.
His podcast series ‘Great Minds on Learning’ and 200+ articles on learning theorists are all online…… also a regular blogger (15 years+) on learning technology.
Books
AI for learning (2020) https://amzn.to/3HmAcIN
Learning Experience Design (2021) https://amzn.to/3zDMdYk
Learning Technologies (to be published Jan 2023)
Metaverse and learning (to be published late 2023)
Blogs
Series on 200 learning theorists, from the Greeks to the Geeks https://bit.ly/3OdrPBs
Podcasts
Great Minds in Learning
GREEKS https://bit.ly/3HpowVy
ENLIGHTENMENT http://bit.ly/3oy80ec
BEHAVIOURISTS http://bit.ly/3iUnINE
COGNITIVISTS http://bit.ly/3oUxOBK
PRACTICE http://bit.ly/3aAK5mk
INSTRUCTIONALISTS http://bit.ly/3FEdYk8
MORALISTS http://bit.ly/3qgdQC8
SOCIAL https://bit.ly/3MTLGEw
ASSESSORS bit.ly/3IX2A3C
AFFECTIVE https://bit.ly/3HsDDhe
INFORMAL https://bit.ly/3zym8Km
WORKFLOW https://bit.ly/3xU4Q9n
ONLINE LEARNING https://bit.ly/3Qn1Vgw
The Learning & Development Podcast with David James https://bit.ly/3zzCGSd
Reimagining Education with James Manion bit.ly/32D2LSf
AI, Data, and Optimism with Leading Learning https://bit.ly/3tEyQUa
AI is the New UI with John Helmer apple.co/3qF8oas
Enhancing learning experiences using AI with Learning Science bit.ly/3FJGdNR
The History of Learning and the Learning of History apple.co/3sMjXQ2
Videos
Don't lecture me! bit.ly/3HmLOtT
TEDx Talk More pedagogic change in 10 years than last 1000 years bit.ly/3quRxqU
Callum Clark
CTO, Wildfire
When he’s not training for his next Taekwon-Do match, Callum spends his time working on WildFire, an AI driven learning content creation system. He has a background in Natural Language Processing and has a degree in Data Science and Knowledge Engineering for Maastricht University in the Netherlands. Callum is also a member of the ITF England Taekwon-Do Team, where he currently preparing to compete in the upcoming European Championships.