By Debolina Dutta, Anasha Kannan Poyil
Behaviour & Information Technology | May 2025
https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2025.2496722
Dutta, D., & Kannan Poyil, A. (2025). Leveraging artificial intelligence: the machine/human agentic impact on evolving practices in learning & development. Behaviour & Information Technology, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2025.2496722
Behaviour & Information Technology, May 2025
The practices and processes enabling learning within organisations have emanated from the metacognitive abilities of humans that have been ‘agentic’ in creating action plans, adopting goals, visualising outcomes, and providing direction and coherence. Rapid technological advancement has increased the adoption of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), in various Human Resource Management (HRM) domains, which demonstrate agentic behaviour. A perspective of human-centered AI (HCAI) is needed to understand better the development of structures and protocols for learning and development (L&D) practices in organisations with human-centered design, which is poorly understood. Our study adopts a practice lens to examine human and technology agents’ embodying structures and routines in L&D functions within organisations. We adopt an exploratory qualitative approach and analyze 24 HR & L&D leaders’ interviews by deploying Gioia's methodology. We find that L&D practitioners currently use and plan to use AI in various applications, which change protocols and activities of human and technology agents. Based on our findings, we propose a conceptual framework for leveraging AI in L&D, operating with different structures, and encompassing various conjoined agencies.
Debolina Dutta is a Clinical Professor, senior HR leader, and an ICF‑certified ACC level coach with over 30 years of industry experience and 6 years in academia. She brings deep expertise across Human Resources, Organisation Development, and Leadership Capability Building, having worked across diverse geographies and organisational contexts, including multinational corporations, private enterprises, and start‑ups.
Globally recognized for her contributions to the HR profession, Debolina has been named among the 100 Most Influential Global HR Professionals by the World HRD Congress, a Most Influential HR Leader in India, and nominated as one of the Top 16 Women Leaders. As an executive coach, she works closely with mid‑management and senior leaders on leadership transitions, personal effectiveness, and organisational change. Her work is supported by certifications in behavioral facilitation as well as expertise in psychometric tools.She has served on the Board of IIM Indore and advises organisations on talent strategies and AI-HRM adoption.
Debolina has led large‑scale organisational development and transformation initiatives spanning change management, mergers and acquisitions, HRIS implementations, and the design of structured talent and leadership frameworks, often in complex, multicultural environments. She is an alumna of IIM Indore (FPM‑Industry), IIM Bangalore, and the College of Engineering, Pune, and a published thought leader with case studies in Harvard Business Review and research articles in leading academic journals. Through her academic, consulting, and coaching roles, she continues to shape future‑ready leaders by integrating research, practice, and coaching‑led development.
