Every L&D leader right now is fielding some version of the same question: so, what are you actually doing with AI? In this candid Q&A, Sam Dresser, Chief Innovation Officer at School of Rock, shares the unfiltered reality of building an AI-powered learning function across 300+ locations — what they've adopted, what they've set aside, and the philosophy guiding every decision.

With a lean team of three, School of Rock has made collaborative learning the backbone of their strategy: decentralizing content creation to SMEs, using AI to surface insights from learners at scale, and building tools like Perfect Pitch — an AI-powered sales training simulator vibe coded by Sam himself, despite not knowing how to write a single line of code.

The conversation also explores a bigger question Sam frames as L&D's defining challenge in an AI world: the difference between sharing knowledge — which AI does just fine — and sharing wisdom, which is still entirely human. It closes with a look at the business impact: what measurable outcomes emerge when L&D stops chasing completion rates and starts operating like a performance driver.