This is a special episode of Harald’s Curious Corner, recorded right as the L&D Global Sentiment Survey 2026 is released and the conversation across our field starts to shift. Instead of a typical interview arc, this one is more of a pulse check from the survey’s results: what’s rising, what’s fading, and what it tells us about where L&D is heading next.
To make sense of it, I sat down with
Donald Taylor, L&D veteran researcher, strategist, and "pulse-taker" of the industry. Donald has chaired the
Learning Technologies Conference for 25 years, and his annual survey has become one of the clearest signals we have on what L&D is thinking, worrying about, and moving towards.
We talk about why AI has finally “topped out”, why learning analytics is slipping, and why “showing value” is climbing fast. But the real thread is identity. If content can be generated at ultra-low cost, the job can’t be “make more content”. It has to be getting closer to the business, mapping unknown territory, and proving impact in a way leaders actually understand.
Some curious takeaways:
- Treat AI like electricity: it powers everything, but it is not the strategy
- Stop falling in love with the tool and start falling in love with the problem
- If you want to survive the pressure, build your network inside the business, not just your content library
Episode highlights:
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00:00) Welcome to Harald’s Curious Corner
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01:56) The biggest surprises in the L&D Global Sentiment Survey
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07:37) Why experimentation and testing fast matters
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10:16) What the survey’s challenge themes are really saying
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14:10) How to apply the report’s insights to your strategy
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17:13) What “AI topping out” actually means for L&D
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20:16) Understanding the shift from personalisation to adaptive learning
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27:17) The shift from learning analytics to “showing value”
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29:53) How L&D can seize the opportunity amidst rising pressure
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35:35) Three things Donald wants to add and remove in the survey
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What is Harald’s Curious Corner?
Harald’s Curious Corner is where curiosity meets connection.
Harald chases that question with a guest, gathers perspectives from voices across the industry, and then steps back to reflect on what it all means. The show unfolds like a story arc, part exploration, part roundtable, part reflection, blending imagination with analysis.
The result: trusted insights, meaningful conversations, and forward-looking takeaways that shine a light on where learning is headed next.