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Would you trust an AI with something as important as coaching?
LinkedIn – the place usually reserved for career milestones, company news, and quite a few posts that perhaps should have stayed in the drafts – has recently launched their AI-powered career coach. We’re wondering: Can the very human responsibility of coaching really be ceded to AI?
By now, AI has moved past its “shiny new toy” status – although many companies are still implementing it to demonstrate that they’re keeping up with the changing times, so it’s no surprise that LinkedIn has followed suit.
There’s no question in our minds that coaching can be incredibly valuable when used correctly.
Beyond our central question of “AI vs. human”, we’d like to emphasise the importance of coaching itself. We’ve published a blog all about how coaching can change the game for you and your people, but here are just a few of the key benefits:
Coaching – crucially, at every level – is proven to produce better leadership.
This study from 2023 found a positive link between leaders who received coaching, and “authentic and change-oriented leadership behaviours” (such as self-awareness, transparency, behaving with a clear sense of purpose, and processing information with less bias.)
Starting with a “top down” coaching approach ensures that this culture filters out to everyone in your company.
“Engagement” as a metric is obviously quite hard to tangibly measure, so this benefit is based mostly on anecdotal evidence – but unsurprisingly, employees who receive coaching are more engaged,  committed and satisfied in their roles. This benefit works both ways: Your employees progress within their roles, and you enjoy lower staff turnover as a result.
‍
Another huge benefit of coaching is its impact on creating a positive, supportive culture within your organisation. Coaching encourages a sense of progress and is key to that coveted “continuous learning culture” that L&D professionals everywhere are always trying to cultivate.
‍
Now that we’ve established how important the practice of coaching is in general, let’s bring AI into the mix and weigh up the pro’s and con’s of LinkedIn’s chatbot coach.
LinkedIn describes their new feature as a “chatbot [that] provides deeply personalised learning advice and resources to professionals in real time.”
So, is this solving a problem for learners – or is it just another shiny new toy? We’ll take a look at some of the benefits.
If you took a straw poll about the benefits of AI right now, we’re willing to bet most people would say the main selling point is automation – and crucially, the time you save as a result.
According to LinkedIn, “Learners themselves frequently cite “lack of time” as the greatest inhibitor to progress. By accessing LinkedIn Learning for the most relevant courses to answer specific questions, the chatbot can drastically reduce the amount of time it takes for a learner to find and begin taking the courses that matter to them.”
‍
Unlike a human being, AI is constantly awake, alert, and available to answer your questions, placing a definite tick in the “Convenience” column.
When it comes to Neurodiversity, certain symptoms can act as a barrier between the person and a human coach. Difficulty communicating with others, understanding social cues, and paying attention are just a few examples of symptoms that some Neurodivergent people face, and these can be exacerbated by the pressure of a face-to-face interaction. An AI chatbot negates this need, providing a completely neutral and non-judgmental “ear” (in a figurative sense, of course.)
‍
From a strictly individual standpoint, the LinkedIn AI Coach can be seen as the more economical option; it’s included as part of a LinkedIn Premium membership at just $39.99 per month (roughly £30.) Weighed up against the hour-by-hour cost of a professional coach, that’s a significant saving. Whether or not it’s worth the saving is another question, one we’ll explore in more detail later in the blog.
‍
AI coaching is not without its drawbacks, so let’s explore some of the potential pitfalls.
‍
"I want AI to do my laundry and dishes so that I can do art and writing, not for AI to do my art and writing so that I can do my laundry and dishes."
- Joanna Maciejewska
This author said it best. The biggest risk when it comes to delegating tasks like coaching to Artificial Intelligence is the threat of AI supremacy. We’re sure you’ve noticed the onslaught of AI-generated imagery and walls of robotic text all over the internet, symptoms of overreliance perhaps starting to take hold. Just like art and writing, coaching is an inherently human, creative and intuitive endeavour – do you really trust AI with it?
On top of this, this overreliance is contributing to human beings losing out on work ceded to AI. Research from Accenture predicts that 40% of working hours can be impacted by LLM’s like ChatGPT, and this movement isn’t supported by public opinion. According to a survey from last year, 61% of people are “either ambivalent or unwilling to trust AI” – perhaps a harbinger of the public’s reaction to LinkedIn’s new feature.
This is a well-trodden topic within the AI conversation at this point, but bias is a big concern.
According to IBM:
“AI bias, also called machine learning bias or algorithm bias, refers to the occurrence of biased results due to human biases that skew the original training data or AI algorithm—leading to distorted outputs and potentially harmful outcomes.”
When an AI coach is trained on potentially biased data, this can negatively affect the advice it produces and therefore hinder the learner.
‍
This is the other side of the “Accessibility” coin from our “Pro” section. While some people may find the chatbot – and its inherent lack of humanity – less stressful, others crave the emotional connection with which so many career coaches imbue their work. There is an unavoidable, emotional component to learning, teaching and coaching, and AI can’t deliver this.
‍
Can LinkedIn’s AI Coach ever measure up to the real thing? Have we missed any potential drawbacks or benefits? Join the conversation over on LinkedIn (and yes, we do see the irony.)
‍
Explore what impact Thrive could make for your team and your learners today.
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Would you trust an AI with something as important as coaching?
LinkedIn – the place usually reserved for career milestones, company news, and quite a few posts that perhaps should have stayed in the drafts – has recently launched their AI-powered career coach. We’re wondering: Can the very human responsibility of coaching really be ceded to AI?
By now, AI has moved past its “shiny new toy” status – although many companies are still implementing it to demonstrate that they’re keeping up with the changing times, so it’s no surprise that LinkedIn has followed suit.
There’s no question in our minds that coaching can be incredibly valuable when used correctly.
Beyond our central question of “AI vs. human”, we’d like to emphasise the importance of coaching itself. We’ve published a blog all about how coaching can change the game for you and your people, but here are just a few of the key benefits:
Coaching – crucially, at every level – is proven to produce better leadership.
This study from 2023 found a positive link between leaders who received coaching, and “authentic and change-oriented leadership behaviours” (such as self-awareness, transparency, behaving with a clear sense of purpose, and processing information with less bias.)
Starting with a “top down” coaching approach ensures that this culture filters out to everyone in your company.
“Engagement” as a metric is obviously quite hard to tangibly measure, so this benefit is based mostly on anecdotal evidence – but unsurprisingly, employees who receive coaching are more engaged,  committed and satisfied in their roles. This benefit works both ways: Your employees progress within their roles, and you enjoy lower staff turnover as a result.
‍
Another huge benefit of coaching is its impact on creating a positive, supportive culture within your organisation. Coaching encourages a sense of progress and is key to that coveted “continuous learning culture” that L&D professionals everywhere are always trying to cultivate.
‍
Now that we’ve established how important the practice of coaching is in general, let’s bring AI into the mix and weigh up the pro’s and con’s of LinkedIn’s chatbot coach.
LinkedIn describes their new feature as a “chatbot [that] provides deeply personalised learning advice and resources to professionals in real time.”
So, is this solving a problem for learners – or is it just another shiny new toy? We’ll take a look at some of the benefits.
If you took a straw poll about the benefits of AI right now, we’re willing to bet most people would say the main selling point is automation – and crucially, the time you save as a result.
According to LinkedIn, “Learners themselves frequently cite “lack of time” as the greatest inhibitor to progress. By accessing LinkedIn Learning for the most relevant courses to answer specific questions, the chatbot can drastically reduce the amount of time it takes for a learner to find and begin taking the courses that matter to them.”
‍
Unlike a human being, AI is constantly awake, alert, and available to answer your questions, placing a definite tick in the “Convenience” column.
When it comes to Neurodiversity, certain symptoms can act as a barrier between the person and a human coach. Difficulty communicating with others, understanding social cues, and paying attention are just a few examples of symptoms that some Neurodivergent people face, and these can be exacerbated by the pressure of a face-to-face interaction. An AI chatbot negates this need, providing a completely neutral and non-judgmental “ear” (in a figurative sense, of course.)
‍
From a strictly individual standpoint, the LinkedIn AI Coach can be seen as the more economical option; it’s included as part of a LinkedIn Premium membership at just $39.99 per month (roughly £30.) Weighed up against the hour-by-hour cost of a professional coach, that’s a significant saving. Whether or not it’s worth the saving is another question, one we’ll explore in more detail later in the blog.
‍
AI coaching is not without its drawbacks, so let’s explore some of the potential pitfalls.
‍
"I want AI to do my laundry and dishes so that I can do art and writing, not for AI to do my art and writing so that I can do my laundry and dishes."
- Joanna Maciejewska
This author said it best. The biggest risk when it comes to delegating tasks like coaching to Artificial Intelligence is the threat of AI supremacy. We’re sure you’ve noticed the onslaught of AI-generated imagery and walls of robotic text all over the internet, symptoms of overreliance perhaps starting to take hold. Just like art and writing, coaching is an inherently human, creative and intuitive endeavour – do you really trust AI with it?
On top of this, this overreliance is contributing to human beings losing out on work ceded to AI. Research from Accenture predicts that 40% of working hours can be impacted by LLM’s like ChatGPT, and this movement isn’t supported by public opinion. According to a survey from last year, 61% of people are “either ambivalent or unwilling to trust AI” – perhaps a harbinger of the public’s reaction to LinkedIn’s new feature.
This is a well-trodden topic within the AI conversation at this point, but bias is a big concern.
According to IBM:
“AI bias, also called machine learning bias or algorithm bias, refers to the occurrence of biased results due to human biases that skew the original training data or AI algorithm—leading to distorted outputs and potentially harmful outcomes.”
When an AI coach is trained on potentially biased data, this can negatively affect the advice it produces and therefore hinder the learner.
‍
This is the other side of the “Accessibility” coin from our “Pro” section. While some people may find the chatbot – and its inherent lack of humanity – less stressful, others crave the emotional connection with which so many career coaches imbue their work. There is an unavoidable, emotional component to learning, teaching and coaching, and AI can’t deliver this.
‍
Can LinkedIn’s AI Coach ever measure up to the real thing? Have we missed any potential drawbacks or benefits? Join the conversation over on LinkedIn (and yes, we do see the irony.)
‍
Explore what impact Thrive could make for your team and your learners today.
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