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Continuous and adaptive lifelong learning is a necessity to respond to requirements in changing workplaces and technologies.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has revolutionized many sectors during the last twenty years and is present in many aspects of modern life. It has changed how people communicate, manage data, conduct business, secure digital assets, and interact within social frameworks. AI-based methods influence education and research and affect existing educational methodologies and institutional structures.

The integration of AI in lifelong learning in this context is vital for people who require learning solutions tailored to their interests, goals, and work duties. It has a transformative potential to create personalized and effective learning experiences that adapt to individual and contextual needs. AI technologies can improve lifelong learning i.e. supporting accessibility and sustainability. Using AI’s ability to analyse data, predict trends, and personalize experiences, lifelong learning can be more adaptive, inclusive, and environmentally intentional.

It is important to recognize AI's transformative potential in education, particularly in lifelong learning and workplace learning but also to prevent against its unexamined adoption. Challenges and risks associated with the use of AI particularly in informal lifelong learning and in the workplace should be addressed. It is necessary to research the use of AI together with specific needs of learners in different learning contexts and levels, to promote equitable and democratized access to personalized learning.
In this paper, first, the potentials and challenges of AI in informal and workplace lifelong learning are presented, particularly focusing on two critical dimensions: accessibility and sustainability. Then some shadows beyond the hype of AI in lifelong learning and the necessity of comprehensive strategies to maintain human connections, ensure data privacy and security, mitigate biases, foster creativity, reduce access disparities, emphasize ethics, and regulate AI-generated content are summarized.

This study underlines the need for policymaking to use AI’s benefits while safeguarding against its disadvantages. Some existing publications have been analyzed, discussions with trainers, educators, developers of lifelong learning concepts, and stakeholders have been conducted, and the author's experience as coordinator of a lifelong learning study group has been used. Based on the Competency Frameworks launched on Digital Learning Week 2024, one of UNESCO’s annual flagship events, the author works on a similar one for AI use in lifelong learning. They should help trainers, and lifelong learners in working with AI, and policymakers in developing corresponding measures.