How AI is Transforming Facilitation – We Want Your Voice!

The International Association of Facilitators (IAF) has always been at the forefront of empowering facilitators to navigate change, foster collaboration, and create meaningful impact. In an era defined by rapid technological advancements, particularly in Artificial Intelligence (AI), we must assert our conversational leadership on this critical topic whilst being humble about our knowledge of this field.

The science behind LLM is just starting to emerge as there are still plenty of "black box" concepts to explain the magnificent outputs of your favourite AI tool.

AI is transforming how industries operate, and our profession is no exception. To remain relevant and better prepare our members for the AI revolution, we must embrace this technology as an enabler of better service delivery. This isn’t about replacing facilitators with AI—it’s about enhancing our capacity to lead conversations, solve complex problems, and drive positive outcomes.

The Initiative: A Global Survey on AI in Facilitation

As the lead of the IAF Special Interest Group on AI in Facilitation, I am excited to propose a global survey to gather insights from facilitators worldwide. This survey is designed to explore how AI is impacting our profession and how we, as facilitators, can leverage it to deliver more value to the groups and organizations we serve.

Key Objectives:

1. Map how facilitators are using AI today.
2. Identify challenges and opportunities for integration.
3. Shape strategies to ensure AI enhances our practice.
4. Promote ethical and inclusive AI use.
5. Build global dialogue around AI in facilitation.
6. Address education gaps to empower facilitators with AI knowledge.

This proposal is built on collaborative efforts, and I want to acknowledge the contributions of my colleagues who have been instrumental in shaping these discussions:

• Nidhi S. (Sathiyamoorthy)
• Michael Mazuelos
• Paolo Mario Remo Martinez
• Mike Clargo (SIG co-founder)

This work was also informed by the strategic proposals from Mike Rossius

which were reviewed during our recent SIG meetings. To move forward effectively, we need further input from those not present in the discussion, including:

• Irene Maweu (SIG Co-founder)
• Annekatrin Madlung
• Paul Nunesdea, PhD, CPF, MC (Paulo Nunes de Abreu, SIG co-founder)
• Peter SEAH - CPF-Master/ ACC/ Systems and Team Coach (SIG co-founder)

I’d also like to cc Rena Ko? and Celeste D Brito for their valuable insights and perspectives.

Outside the IAF other colleagues are already contributing tremendously to advance our knowledge and ethical practice in this field.

In my recent blog article The Evolving Role of Facilitation: Integrating AI into Architecting Collaboration I recognised the fundamental contributions of several colleagues including the DREAM framework by the pivotal work of Alexandre Eisenchteter? and our own impressive IAF colleague Mike Clargo here.

Call to Action: Shaping the Future of Facilitation Together

The future of facilitation depends on our ability to adapt and evolve. This survey is not just a research project—it’s a platform for us to co-create the future of our profession. To proceed, I believe it is essential to incorporate the perspectives of all the colleagues mentioned above and beyond.

I invite all facilitators to contribute to this initiative:

• Share your thoughts on AI’s role in facilitation.
• Highlight challenges and opportunities you foresee.
• Provide feedback to refine this survey proposal.

Let’s ensure that the facilitation profession not only survives the AI revolution but thrives as a leader in collaborative innovation. Together, we can harness the power of AI to amplify our impact and deliver even greater value to the groups and communities we serve.

Share Your Voice

I encourage you to comment below or reach out directly to share your input. Let’s take this opportunity to lead the global facilitation community into a new era—where human connection and technological innovation go hand in hand.

#AIinFacilitation #FacilitationLeadership #IAF #ArtificialIntelligence #Collaboration