Podcast Summary – Redefining Performance Consulting for the Age of AI with Josh Cavalier of JoshCavalier.ai
Meet Josh Cavalier
If you have spent any amount of time following conversations about AI in learning and development, chances are you have seen the name Josh Cavalier more than once. Over the past two years, he has emerged as one of the clearest and most encouraging voices helping L&D professionals understand what artificial intelligence means for their work. His message is grounded in both experience and optimism. He believes learning professionals are not only capable of thriving in the age of AI, but uniquely positioned to shape how organizations learn and perform.
In this episode of the Learning Leaders Spotlight, TrainingPros President Leigh Anne Lankford sits down with Josh to explore his journey, his new book, and his practical perspective on how AI can strengthen the impact of learning teams. Josh brings the perspective of someone who has lived through multiple waves of technological change. He understands the fear, excitement, confusion, and possibility that professionals feel right now. And through every part of this conversation, he reminds listeners that AI is not here to replace humans. It is here to help people do their best work.
Josh’s Early Career: Creativity Meets Technology
Josh did not begin his career in learning and development. He began with a pencil, a sketchbook, and a degree in medical illustration. His original plan was to stay in the field. But like many who eventually find their way into L&D, his curiosity pulled him in a new direction. While in college, he was introduced to early multimedia technology. “It was fascinating to me the ability to go ahead and control things that were happening with a computer,” he says.
That spark of fascination stayed with him. After working in medical illustration and legal graphics, he followed an opportunity to become an art director at an eLearning firm in Charlotte. The role exposed him to a wide range of work. “He pushed me to learn instructional design. He pushed me to learn performance consulting,” Josh recalls of his early mentor, Dick Hanshaw. At the time, Josh did not fully understand why he was learning so many skills outside of design. Looking back now, he sees how foundational they were for every chapter that followed.
Those early experiences shaped not only his craft, but his mindset. He learned to blend creative thinking, instructional design, and systems level understanding. That combination became the backbone of his future work as an educator, consultant, and now one of the leading voices in AI for L&D.
Building a Career in Learning and Technology
After his early corporate roles, Josh founded Load Stone in 1999, where he focused on helping learning professionals master new technologies. He taught thousands of people how to use authoring tools, multimedia programs, and LMS platforms. “I was having a blast, going into L&D departments and spinning them up on technology,” he says. Over time, Load Stone grew into one of the top Adobe authorized training partners in the United States.
But the learning landscape was shifting. Online learning platforms were emerging and democratizing access to technical skills. Josh realized it was time for a reset. He returned to corporate work, helping a supply chain organization implement critical technologies during the pandemic. Things were moving along steadily until one moment changed the trajectory of his career.
“I got my hands on ChatGPT a week after it was released,” he remembers. “Things changed.” He describes the moment he used the model to create a learning objective, storyboard, and script. The impact was immediate. He recognized that AI would fundamentally change how learning was designed and delivered. That realization set him on a new path, and in 2023, he launched JoshCavalier.ai.
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Why He Shifted from Video to AI: The Story Behind His Book
Josh had been planning to publish a book on video production. It had already been edited and indexed. But when generative AI emerged, he paused everything. “I cannot release that book,” he recalls thinking. “My attention to AI and how it shows up in L&D was way more important.”
As he taught workshops, engaged with peers, and experimented with AI tools, he began to see patterns. “There is some consistency here,” he realized. “There is a whole book that I can write about this.” That moment of clarity sparked the idea for Applying AI in Learning and Development, which became the first comprehensive guide to help L&D professionals understand both the strategy and the tactics of using AI in learning.
“The front part is the foundations,” he says, describing how the book begins with what L&D professionals need to know about AI fundamentals. The second half walks readers through practical tools and workflows. “It is pretty inclusive whether you are a leader and you want to take a look at it from a strategic standpoint, or you are an individual contributor and you want to get down into the tactics.”
The result is a resource that meets learning professionals exactly where they are, whether they are hesitant beginners or enthusiastic early adopters.
How AI Is Changing the Work of Learning Professionals
When Leigh Anne asks Josh how AI affects learning roles, he gives a detailed and grounded response. AI, he explains, is not just another tool. It fundamentally changes the relationship between people and their work. In the book, he describes the emergence of the human machine performance analyst. This role recognizes that humans and AI now collaborate.
“As learning professionals,” he explains, “we have to figure out now the net performance of humans working with AI.” If a role uses agentic tools or automated processes, L&D must understand how effectively those tools are being used, how they are affecting performance, and what learning or support is needed.
He offers a clear example. Content creation is shifting quickly. What once took weeks now takes hours. “As opposed to building content as a learning professional, you are going to orchestrate that content,” he says. Orchestration involves pulling data, business context, and performance signals into cohesive learning flows. It requires L&D to be closer to the business than ever before.
This shift is not a reduction of the L&D role. It is an expansion. It moves learning professionals from production to performance, from content development to business alignment, and from isolated projects to ongoing systems thinking.
Performance Consulting in the Age of AI
Anyone who grew up in L&D during the era of Jim and Dana Robinson’s performance consulting model will appreciate the way Josh describes the current moment. He believes performance consulting has never been more relevant. The difference is that AI accelerates the process.
“We have a tool that is extremely good at recognizing patterns,” he says. If an organization has hundreds of incident reports, AI can surface the underlying issues within minutes. “What would have taken weeks to go through now could take hours.”
This does not replace the relationship-driven elements of performance consulting. It strengthens them. It gives consultants a clearer starting point and helps them focus conversations where they will have the most impact.
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Josh sees this as a major opportunity for learning professionals. “There are so many opportunities for learning professionals to gain experience in doing performance consulting and getting on the front end,” he explains. With AI support, L&D teams can identify problems earlier, partner with business leaders more effectively, and design solutions that directly improve performance.
Why Learning Science Still Matters
Despite his enthusiasm for AI, Josh continually returns to one theme. Foundational learning science remains essential.
“Everything that revolves around adult learning principles and learning science,” he says, “propagates throughout all of your content creation workflows.” He gives a simple example: optimal speaking rates in instructional video. If a designer does not understand core principles like cognitive load or pacing, AI generated content may look polished but fail instructionally.
“If you do not understand those concepts and you lean into the pseudoscience,” he warns, “you can be in a real mess.” He is especially concerned for new professionals who may rely on AI to generate content without understanding whether the output is instructionally sound.
In his mentorship work, he emphasizes the need for solid foundations. “I could not emphasize enough,” he says, “that she has to have foundational understanding of adult learning principles and learning science so that she does not get caught up in AI generating some type of solution that looks good on paper but would be a disaster in practice.”
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Getting Comfortable with AI
Not everyone is eager to embrace AI. Josh understands this. His advice begins with empathy. “Give yourself some grace,” he says. If AI feels overwhelming, start small.
He encourages people to begin with what they already know. “They need to lean into their expertise,” he suggests. Identify a task that is repetitive or time-consuming. Then ask how AI might act as a collaborator or intern. In workshops, he sees a consistent pattern. There is a moment when a participant experiences what he calls the unlock. “You can hear it in the room,” he explains. “The veil has been uplifted.”
After that moment, fear turns into curiosity. Questions turn into experiments. And professionals who once felt intimidated feel motivated to keep exploring.
He also emphasizes the importance of community. Some people are naturally enthusiastic about AI while others feel hesitant. Pairing the wrong personalities can be intimidating. “Find your peer group,” he advises. Surround yourself with people who are learning at the same pace and who will support your growth.
Skills the L&D Team of the Future Will Need
As organizations mature in their use of AI, learning teams will take on new responsibilities. When Leigh Anne asks Josh what skills are essential for future L&D professionals, he describes four.
Learning Science
The first is learning science. “That is a non-negotiable skill,” he says.
Data and Analytics
The second is data and analytics. L&D teams will need to understand data quality, interpret patterns, and evaluate the impact of learning programs.
Business Acumen
The third is business acumen. Learning professionals must be able to speak the language of leaders, understand organizational goals, and build relationships across the business.
System Design
The fourth is system design. As humans begin collaborating with agents and automations, L&D professionals must understand how work is structured. Knowing how tasks connect, where errors occur, and where interventions are needed will help learning teams design in the flow of work.
Josh also predicts structural changes. He believes the L&D function will become federated, with some professionals embedded in business units and others managing enterprise learning systems and AI governance. This model allows learning to stay connected to both strategy and execution.
Resources Josh Recommends
Keeping up with AI can feel overwhelming. Josh offers practical guidance. He turns to YouTube creators who test models, explain updates, and provide unbiased insights. “There are individuals out there that are building their whole careers around keeping up on AI news,” he explains. These creators filter information and save professionals hours of trial and error.
He encourages listeners to find sources that resonate with them and ask peers for recommendations. “Find your people that resonate for you,” he says. Once you have reliable resources, you can quickly stay informed about both large-scale developments and small tactical updates.
He also encourages learning professionals to understand both the macro and micro perspectives on AI. Macro trends include what AI labs are building, how data centers evolve, and how AI impacts society. Micro trends include evaluation of models, generative tools, and tactical workflows for learning teams.
Josh’s Messages of Encouragement
Throughout this conversation, Josh brings a thoughtful, grounded perspective on what it means to be a learning professional in a rapidly changing world. He believes that AI will accelerate creativity, improve performance consulting, and help L&D teams connect learning more directly to business results. But he also believes that foundational learning science and human judgment remain at the center of effective learning design.
His message is one of encouragement. Lean into your expertise. Stay curious. Build foundational knowledge. Give yourself space to explore. And surround yourself with a supportive community.
TrainingPros is proud to honor Josh by planting five trees in his name as part of our commitment to global sustainability. His insights will continue to shape how learning professionals approach AI, design learning, and build the future of the workplace.
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