by Clemens Hackl (Digital Director, SmartLab)
In an era of relentless change, the most vital skill for any organisation isn’t any specific technical competency alone —it’s the ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn. Yet, as noted in a June 2025 ELB Learning article, the ‘one size fits all’ approach—characterised by generic, linear content—is rapidly becoming obsolete in corporate training, failing to engage and support diverse learners in pursuit of their growth mindset.
Imagine instead a system that grows with each learner—an ecosystem that adapts, supports, challenges, and nurtures. A system where artificial intelligence isn’t just a tool, but a growth mindset ally, designed around human potential.
This is the future of learning—where individual mindset meets intelligent systems.
Carol Dweck’s foundational insight—that “brain and talent are just the starting point”—revolutionized how we view intelligence and potential. Her work reminds us that everyone can learn and grow with the right mindset. As she put it:
“No matter what your ability is, effort is what ignites that ability and turns it into accomplishment.”
That idea—effort fuels potential—ignited a shift in education, sports, and corporate training. But today, we need to go further. Growth mindset must evolve from an individual belief to a system-wide strategy, shaped around personalized, adaptive environments powered by AI.
In this new reality, growth mindset is supported and enabled by:
And perhaps most critically, it involves clarity of purpose. As the Cheshire Cat reminds Alice in Alice in Wonderlandwhen she asks which way she ought to go:
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.”
Without a defined direction, even the most powerful AI can't deliver meaningful learning journeys. Growth systems require intentionality in both design and learner engagement.
AI-powered learning platforms are now much more than content libraries—they’re ecosystems. Adaptive systems like SmartLab, other LXPs, and intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) act as:
Consider AI-generated virtual instructors at MIT, which “can improve motivation and foster positive emotions for learning” by mirroring admired figures. The result? Learners feel seen, understood, and motivated.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella underscores this shift:
“If you want to learn it all and not [just] know it all, that is the foundation of a growth mindset. This means you have to have empathy more than anything else, to be able to see through other people's eyes.”
And as he says, it goes beyond the personal:
“So, the new workflow for me is: I think with AI and work with my colleagues.”
AI isn’t replacing us—it’s partnering with us. It scales personalization and frees humans to focus on meaning-making, co‑creation, and trust-building.
This partnership helps build confidence in the face of uncertainty. As the Wizard says to Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz:
“You have plenty of courage… The true courage is in facing danger when you are afraid.”
AI’s role is to scaffold that courage—not by removing the difficulty, but by supporting the learner with just enough guidance to persist.
Designing AI with People in Mind
To cultivate a growth-oriented learning system, AI must be human-centric by design. That means building systems based on:
This aligns with Simon Sinek’s notion that true leadership makes others leaders:
“The greatest contribution of a leader is to make others leaders.”
We can think of AI in learning environments as a servant leader—like a coach who nudges, encourages, and steps back when trust and autonomy are earned.
These human-centered principles must guide both the algorithms and the learning cultures that adopt them.
When we personalize learning, we’re also playing to how the brain is wired. Neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to reshape itself—is driven by relevance, emotion, and repetition.
MIT research supports this: they found that AI-generated instructors targeting learners’ emotional preferences boost motivation and engagement.
Adding to this, a UniDistance Suisse study showed AI tutors that use retrieval practice and spaced repetition improved grades by 15 percentile points compared to traditional classes.
Generative AI tutoring platforms like Syntea are also showing impressive gains—learning speeds improved by ~27% in just a few months in recent trials.
These are not wing-it innovations, but data-backed wins—especially in hybrid learning models where AI adapts to individuals while humans hold the relational space.
When aligned with a clearly defined destination and scaffolded courage, this kind of personalization fuels not just competence—but confidence.
Real‑World Signals: Microsoft and Beyond
Microsoft under Nadella is a leading beacon. He transformed the culture from “know-it-alls” to “learn-it-alls.” This wasn’t just rhetoric—it reshaped performance systems, feedback loops, and learning technologies to prioritize growth over status.
Their approach shows that growth isn’t merely a mindset—it’s an ecosystem choice.
Other institutions are following suit:
Whether in higher education or organizational learning, the hybrid model—machines delivering scale and precision, humans delivering nuance and meaning—is proving its merit.
Growth isn’t just an internal attitude—it’s a design principle. When AI is used to support rather than instruct, elevate rather than replace, we craft learning environments that are:
The result is a Growth System—a deeply human ecosystem powered by intelligent machines.
As Cynthia Breazeal, founder of MIT’s Social Robotics Lab, puts it, we should humanize technology and expand empathetic connection through design—making technology a partner, not a lecturer.
We are at a pivotal moment. Growth mindset can no longer remain an optional extracurricular—it must be baked into our systems, platforms, and leadership cultures.
AI isn’t the threat—it’s the opportunity: to unleash scale and personalization while anchoring in empathy and ethics.
The question isn’t can machines teach? It’s can machines partner in learning? And with thoughtful design, hybrid mentorship, and human stewardship, the answer is yes.
Will your organization build the growth system that learns as its people grow? Or stay on a linear path that leaves human potential untapped?