How Much Should We Rely On AI To Design Workshops?

Designing workshops and learning experiences is one of my favorite things. I love exploring combinations of facilitation techniques (like Liberating Structures), experimenting with different approaches, and creating meaningful experiences for participants. It's a creative puzzle where I can easily spend hours playing with ideas, sketching different designs, and imagining how a group might respond.

Although my facilitation toolkit goes well beyond Liberating Structures, they've become an important part of it. And using the physical LS cards makes designing workshops even more fun! Christiaan Verwijs and I have covered many train compartments with our cards as we explored different workshop designs. Who knows, we might even have inspired a few fellow passengers along the way. 😃

Nowadays, my approach is still pretty much the same. I start with a clear purpose, spread out my physical LS cards, and explore which structures might fit well. From there, I experiment with different combinations, imagining how the workshop might unfold and how each structure builds on the last.

Of course, this approach takes time. And increasingly, people ask me:

“Why not simply use AI to design your workshops?” 🤷‍♀️

A fair question, especially now that AI can generate a complete workshop design in seconds.

Until recently, my response was harsh: "Don't use AI for stuff like this!" My concern was that you'd miss out on valuable learning opportunities by outsourcing the creative process of designing a workshop.

But then, during a recent workshop, someone shared a different perspective. They explained how AI had helped them move beyond always relying on 1-2-4-All. They didn't yet have the knowledge or confidence to use many other Liberating Structures, but AI suggested alternatives they could experiment with. Little by little, they expanded their repertoire and built their confidence.

I guess that's a positive thing. I'm still not fully convinced, though.

Another argument I sometimes hear is:

"That's easy for you to say! You know all the Liberating Structures by heart, so designing workshops is much easier for you."

But I find that argument a bit weak. The very reason I know them so well is because I went through the struggle of learning them in the first place. Spending hours exploring different structures, experimenting with combinations, making mistakes, and figuring out what works is exactly what helped me develop that knowledge and confidence.

I wonder how much of that learning you miss when AI does the thinking for you.

So, I'm still figuring out where I stand on this. Maybe I'm just being a bit old-fashioned and holding on to a creative process I enjoy. But what if AI actually helps people discover and experiment with Liberating Structures they otherwise wouldn't have tried? 🤔

What do you think?