How AI Could Transform, or Replace, the LMS
For 30 years now, colleges have relied on the Learning Management System, or LMS, as a key portal for professors and students to teach and learn. It's a tool that has helped colleges adapt to online learning and bring digital tools to classroom teaching. But generative AI seems poised to disrupt the LMS. And it’s unclear whether the LMS will evolve—or be replaced altogether. For this episode, Jeff and Michael talk with a pioneer of the technology, Matthew Pittinsky, about the lessons of past moments of tech disruption like the smartphone and cloud computing and about what could be different this time. This episode is made with support from Ascendium Education Group.
Episode 220 of the Future U Podcast - The Pulse of Higher Ed podcast, hosted by Jeff Selingo and Michael Horn, titled "How AI Could Transform, or Replace, the LMS" was published on March 10, 2026 and runs 38 minutes.
March 10, 2026 ·38m · Future U Podcast - The Pulse of Higher Ed
Summary
For 30 years now, colleges have relied on the Learning Management System, or LMS, as a key portal for professors and students to teach and learn. It's a tool that has helped colleges adapt to online learning and bring digital tools to classroom teaching. But generative AI seems poised to disrupt the LMS. And it’s unclear whether the LMS will evolve—or be replaced altogether. For this episode, Jeff and Michael talk with a pioneer of the technology, Matthew Pittinsky, about the lessons of past moments of tech disruption like the smartphone and cloud computing and about what could be different this time. This episode is made with support from Ascendium Education Group.
Episode Description
For 30 years now, colleges have relied on the Learning Management System, or LMS, as a key portal for professors and students to teach and learn. It's a tool that has helped colleges adapt to online learning and bring digital tools to classroom teaching. But generative AI seems poised to disrupt the LMS. And it’s unclear whether the LMS will evolve—or be replaced altogether. For this episode, Jeff and Michael talk with a pioneer of the technology, Matthew Pittinsky, about the lessons of past moments of tech disruption like the smartphone and cloud computing and about what could be different this time. This episode is made with support from Ascendium Education Group.
Relevant Links
The LMS at 30: From Course Management to Learning Management (At Last), by Matthew Pittinsky in OnTech.
LMS at 30 Part 2: Learning Management in the AI Era, by Matthew Pittinsky in OnTech.
“Pygmalion in the Classroom: Teacher Expectation and Pupils' Intellectual Development,” by Robert Rosenthal and Lenore Jacobson
“Two-Sigma Tutoring: Separating Science Fiction from Science Fact,” by Paul T. von Hippel in Education Next.
Chapters
0:00 - Intro
1:34 - How the LMS Became Key Infrastructure at Colleges
3:04 - What Was the Sales Pitch When the LMS First Emerged?
5:15 - Why Blackboard Bought Up So Many Competitors
7:36 - AI Will Disrupt LMS Even Though Previous Tech Didn’t
10:57 - Could AI Can Bring ‘Hogwarts Magical Study Aids’?
12:22 - Is the LMS Needed In an Age of AI?
14:14 - Should LMS Providers Build Guardrails to Prevent Cheat-Bots?
18:25 - What Lessons From the Past Can Help Respond to AI?
19:52 - A New Leader at Blackboard
21:06 - Sponsor Break
22:00 - How Faculty Are Key to Change
28:03 - Why Change From AI Might Be Discipline-Specific
34:50 - Lightning Round With Matt Pittinsky
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