In this podcast, John Kannapell, President and COO of CYPHER Learning, joins Beau Hamilton, Senior Editor and Multimedia Producer at SourceForge, to talk about how AI-powered learning is transforming the world of corporate training and education. As learning continues to evolve, organizations and educators are rethinking how to deliver content that’s not only effective but also deeply engaging.
According to CYPHER, giving learners true agency means more than just personalization. It’s about building smart systems that adapt in real time to their goals, interests, and learning styles. Whether it’s teaching division through Minecraft or scheduling weekly lessons on coral reefs, the future of learning is responsive and learner-led.
What does the evolution of online learning look like for CYPHER?
“It really just sounds like CYPHER was waiting for this moment in a sense, like working towards this goal of having this personalized AI, creating these modules for you. And now we’re finally here, essentially, it’s been like decades in the making… I think being able to have a platform that caters individually to the student or to, in this case, the business person, I think that’s really interesting. And I think there’s a lot to be gained from that.”
For most of human history, education and training followed a static, one-size-fits-all model with a person standing on stage lecturing, think Socrates in the agora or a modern teacher at the front of a classroom. But today, with the rise of AI-driven personalization, we’re finally able to shift from time spent in your seat to real skill mastery. Students and employees alike can now learn at their own pace, guided by dynamic, responsive content tailored to their unique roles, locations, or learning gaps. This shift is already happening in companies like U-Haul, where training content adapts to store formats and customer needs in real time. Businesses are moving beyond checkbox compliance courses to continuously updated, role-specific training that actually matters, and that evolution is key to staying competitive in fast-changing industries like tech, healthcare, and finance.
“So if you think about businesses, most people, when they think about training from business, they think about the annual compliance course they gotta take, right? To check the box and click that button and hopefully they get the quiz right or they gotta go back and redo it. It’s a total waste of time and just awful user experience. And with AI now, what you’re able to do is actually personalize all of the training down to the individual employee, at scale and in an efficient way”
- John Kannapell
What engaging features are there for learners in the platform?
“Can you help me visualize what the platform looks like and how I would interact with it? You mentioned there are group chats, are there any other features and visual learning aspects there in your platform?”
Gamification plays a central role in engagement, with configurable leaderboards, credential tracking, and real-world rewards. On the backend, CYPHER easily integrates with systems like Workday, Salesforce, and BambooHR to ensure that user data, course progress, and compliance metrics stay fully aligned across platforms. With continuous feedback from power users and beta testers, plus a global-ready infrastructure supporting 50+ languages, CYPHER is staying not just current, but clearly ahead of the curve.The launch of CYPHER Agent for learners takes things even further, turning traditional course content into dynamic, personalized, and context-aware learning experiences.
“The toolkits that we have allow learning along the spectrum, everything from what I call transactional, just-in-time learning, question-answer, all the way to long-form courses and micro learning moments all the way in between. That’s why we say that our purpose is to deliver billions of learning moments every day for our learners.”
- John Kannapell
What goes into AI-powered course creation?
“It’s a big issue for anybody working with generative AI, but it’s especially big when you're educating people. Obviously you want to give them the most real factual information. What’s kind of the behind the scenes look?”
AI has become a powerful engine behind the scenes, but it’s not about replacing humans, but empowering them instead. According to CYPHER, AI is transforming corporate training by automating up to 80% of course creation. This drastically reduces manual labor while allowing organizations to maintain full control over content customization. By streamlining the development process, companies can deliver high-quality, personalized training at scale, empowering employees to progress efficiently and effectively. Educators and trainers still shape the voice, context, and relevance, especially when tailoring content to industry-specific standards. The result is faster course development without sacrificing trust or control.
CYPHER emphasizes that while AI is a powerful enabler, it must be paired with robust oversight. Their proprietary AI Crosscheck process validates every course across multiple engines to ensure factual accuracy, giving educators confidence in the content delivered at scale.
“AI is a fantastic foundation to eliminate a lot of the manual tasks, but we don’t see it replacing human oversight, as well as engagement in the development of the learning experience.”
- John Kannapell
Who should (and shouldn’t) be using CYPHER?
"Now, is there a company or an industry that is not a particularly good fit for CYPHER Learning? Cause it seems like you've worked with all sorts of different industries, schools, and company sizes. Is your platform catered to pretty much any sort of business or industry?"
CYPHER isn’t focused on organizations that view learning as a formality. Instead, the platform is designed for businesses and educational institutions that recognize continuous learning and training as crucial for staying competitive and relevant in rapidly evolving markets. According to CYPHER, ideal clients understand that investing in the personal and professional development of their workforce is essential to drive success. These are the organizations that see learning as a strategic advantage, particularly in industries experiencing rapid change and skills gaps.
“What we’re looking for are businesses and educational institutions that see learning and training as an imperative for their differentiation, for their competitiveness in the market.”
- John Kannapell
How do you incorporate feedback from customers?
"So I’m curious, how do you incorporate feedback from the people you’re educating? Because in a way you can tweak to get real time changes that users want, but there might be some more fundamental changes to the platform that can be tweaked to improve certain aspects. So how do you incorporate feedback to just make the platform better?"
For starters, the brand-new CYPHER Agent for learners is being tested with a beta group of customers, both in businesses and schools. These early adopters are constantly sharing their thoughts through surveys, and CYPHER is keeping a close eye on how they're using, or not using, the features to make sure it's hitting the mark before a wider release.
Beyond the beta program, CYPHER maintains open communication channels with the entire user base. We share our development plans through a public roadmap and engage in regular business reviews with our larger clients, fostering a collaborative approach to growth. We also pay close attention to the needs and expectations of prospective customers, particularly regarding integrations with other critical business systems. Ultimately, CYPHER is driven by a commitment to understanding and responding to the evolving needs of the learning community and staying ahead of the curve in the dynamic world of AI-powered education.
“But I’d say that the main thing is we listen to our customers first. What are they telling us, especially those that really love us and want to continue to grow with us, they get some extra attention. We also store prospects. We listen to people that are in our sales consideration pipeline. What are the things that they need to really make the decision on going with us? And the third is looking at the market and our competitors and where the market’s going, not only what they’re doing, but also where learning is going.”
- John Kannapell
