Lost and Desperate

The BYOAI Trap

The 2026 L&D Global Sentiment Survey reveals that AI interest has peaked, yet practitioners are increasingly using personal, unmanaged AI tools to meet “doing more with less” pressures. Over 40,000 words of respondent commentary highlight rising concerns about redundancies and the human element, while daily AI use for content creation and coaching goes largely invisible to organisations. This “Bring Your Own AI” (BYOAI) creates a trap where demonstrated efficiency justifies further budget cuts, undermining L&D’s strategic case. The article argues that L&D must shift from efficiency to diagnosing capability gaps and removing performance constraints to stay relevant.