Most learning professionals treat AI like a vending machine: put in a prompt, hope for a result. This leads to output that looks like everyone else’s, and it’s exactly why so many AI initiatives stall after the initial excitement.
The real shift isn’t about better prompts. It’s about moving from technician to creator–from rolling out a tool to rehearsing a new way of working.
In this session, Josh Penzell brings 20 years of theater directing into the room and shows what changes when you stop “rolling out AI” and start rehearsing with it. The performing arts have been quietly perfecting the craft of leading live, ensemble-based, improvisational work for 2,500 years, and that craft turns out to be exactly what AI-augmented learning design demands of us right now.
This morning sets up the afternoon workshop, where we’ll put these ideas into practice and build a complete training experience together–live, in real time, with AI as part of the cast.

Learning Outcomes

After this session, participants will be able to:
– Identify common sources of fear and fatigue in AI-driven learning work and apply strategies to help their teams navigate uncertainty with greater confidence.
– Articulate three concrete steps L&D leaders can take to align AI practices with rigor, voice, and the standards their organizations care about.
Identify at least one observable behavior shift L&D leaders can model to coach others toward curiosity and continuous learning as their teams engage with AI.
– Define what it means to build a learning practice grounded in directing rather than deploying — and identify at least one action to begin building that practice in their organization.