Digital learning production is accelerating. AI has made content creation faster, cheaper and more scalable than ever before. At the same time, trend-driven programmes and mandatory modules continue to accumulate. What is rarely discussed is content rationalisation, sunsetting legacy modules, or governing learning sprawl. This blog explores the hidden cost of uncurated growth and why abundance without oversight undermines learning impact.

We are in a production boom

There has never been more digital learning content available.

Organisations are investing in new libraries, building in-house academies and experimenting with AI-generated modules. Trend topics are refreshed annually. Compliance training expands incrementally. New priorities trigger new courses.

Very little, however, is switched off.

Learning ecosystems expand far more easily than they contract. The result is not necessarily chaos, but quiet accumulation.

Content volume increases automatically

Adding learning is usually easier than removing it.

A new regulation requires a module. A new system demands training. A new capability framework introduces fresh pathways. Each addition feels reasonable in isolation. Few feel controversial.

What rarely exists is an equally deliberate process for retirement. Legacy content lingers. Mandatory requirements stack year on year. Duplication spreads across platforms.

Content volume increases automatically. Content quality and relevance increase only intentionally.

AI is accelerating accumulation

AI has amplified this asymmetry.

Course outlines can be generated in minutes. Assessments can be built at scale. Entire learning pathways can be drafted rapidly. Production speed has increased dramatically.

But speed does not equal judgement. Without governance, AI accelerates the rate at which content enters the ecosystem, not the rate at which it is evaluated or retired.

The result is not better learning. It is faster accumulation.

The cognitive and organisational cost

Uncurated abundance has consequences.

For learners, it creates noise. It becomes harder to distinguish what is essential from what is optional. Mandatory training feels heavier each year. Trust declines when outdated or duplicated material remains live.

For L&D teams, it creates maintenance overhead. Reporting becomes fragmented. Governance becomes reactive. Strategic focus blurs under the weight of legacy content.

The ecosystem feels busy, but not necessarily effective.

Mandatory load quietly expands

One of the least examined areas of learning sprawl is mandatory training.

Few organisations actively reduce mandatory load. Instead, requirements accumulate. A new compliance course is added. An existing one is rarely removed. Time commitments increase, often invisibly.

Over time, employees experience training not as support, but as obligation. When mandatory content grows without clear prioritisation, engagement suffers.

The silence around rationalisation

Most L&D conversations focus on innovation, personalisation and scale. Very few focus on subtraction.

Content rationalisation, sunsetting protocols and governance frameworks rarely feature in trend discussions. Yet without them, ecosystems expand indefinitely.

The absence of rationalisation is not neutral. It is a design decision by default.

This is not an argument for less learning

The goal is not to reduce learning for its own sake.

The goal is to protect clarity, trust and relevance. When everything is available, nothing stands out. When nothing is retired, credibility weakens.

Simplification is not austerity. It is leadership.

What this sets up

If digital learning production is accelerating, then curation must become more deliberate.

In the next blog, we explore why learning curation is now a strategic skill, and how L&D can design governance, rationalisation and sunset processes into the ecosystem without stifling innovation.

FAQs: Learning content sprawl and governance

What is learning content sprawl?

Learning content sprawl refers to the unchecked growth of courses, modules and platforms without deliberate rationalisation or retirement.

Why is content sprawl a problem?

It creates cognitive overload for learners, increases maintenance costs for L&D teams and reduces trust in the learning ecosystem.

Does AI contribute to learning sprawl?

AI accelerates content production. Without governance, this increases accumulation rather than improving relevance.

Should organisations reduce learning volume?

Not necessarily. The priority should be clearer governance, defined shelf lives and deliberate curation.