The real disruptors
It was only five years ago the UK, and the world, went into lockdown.
Overnight, everything changed. How we worked, learned, and connected was transformed. Not since the funeral of Princess Diana had so many in the UK turned on the television (or streamed) to watch PM Boris Johnson’s lockdown announcement. Knowledge was king.
For many membership organisations, institutes, and publishers, that disruptor brought an unexpected upside. People turned to trusted sources of information, learning new skills, gain qualifications, or simply make sense of the chaos. Online learning surged. Audiobooks and e-books flew off the (virtual) shelves.
Publishers and professional bodies proved their worth as custodians of valued content. They nurtured authors, built credibility, and shared valuable insight with a world that was searching for very individual answers.
But five years on, the world has moved again. This time, the change is even bigger. Some say like a virus, AI has affected and impacted all of us.
AI has changed the game
AI has rewritten the rules of how organisations create, consume, and apply knowledge. Today, it’s not enough to publish a book, report, or journal article. Corporates, government departments, and education providers are looking for something more dynamic. This typically includes structured, rights-cleared data that can power private AI models, inform decisions and drive innovation.
That’s a huge shift. It’s not just about technology; it’s about the very definition of intellectual property. The question isn’t “who wrote the content?” anymore it is “who controls the data that shapes decisions?”
Large tech companies are trying to own this space, even NewsCorp is aggregating SME publishers content to licence into LLMs. A commercially driven collective bargaining vehicle.
The challenge for publishers and institutes
Relevancy is increasingly hard to keep monitoring. In an age of TikToks, instant answers, and AI chatbots, long-form content often struggles to hold attention. Digital discoverability often comes with a trade-off: you get reach, but you lose control.
For membership organisations that rely on publishing and content as part of their value proposition, this is a call to action. Members no longer just want access to information; they want insight that’s personalised, integrated, and actionable. Often the kind of value that sits at the heart of an intelligent data strategy.
The art of the possible
There’s a great example in AgNet-Zero.com an initiative tackling agricultural research data to support the transition to net-zero farming.
Rather than simply publishing research or reports, AgNet-Zero curates datasets-as-a-service (DaaS). The business is enabled to licence structured data directly into agritech firms, policymakers, and consultants.
The results? Faster innovation and integration. Greater impact with new revenue streams that bypass traditional publishing channels altogether.
It’s a model that turns knowledge into something dynamic to drive change, not just documenting it.
Turning archives into assets
This is where the thinking is heading: data itself can be the product.
Membership organisations already sit on deep backlists of insights, reports, surveys, case studies, research outputs. By structuring that knowledge, embedding traceability, and licensing it intelligently, professional bodies can transform their archives into data-driven IP portfolios.
That shift unlocks new possibilities:
- More tailored member experiences
- Partnerships with AI and data companies
- Influence over how knowledge is used, not just published
In summary, it keeps professional bodies relevant in an economy that’s increasingly defined by data.
One of the real questions
AI is an innovation in accessibility. So, the question isn’t whether publishing will change it already has. The real question is how fast organisations can adapt.
The opportunity is clear: move from being publishers of content to providers of knowledge intelligence. Experiment, fail fast and learn quickly. Build data strategies that serve members, protect rights, and open new doors.
Who knows what will happen over the next five years? Boris back maybe! But, most should be thinking of relevant trusted knowledge, structured as data, as the most powerful form of influence there is.
Librios is a secure generative business intelligence platform that turns complex data and documents into actionable insights.
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