“This is a safe space.” - the wrong thing to say as a facilitator if you want psychological safety in difficult rooms. Especially in AI workshops. Because people don’t feel safe just because we announce it. They feel safe when the see the proof. When someone can challenge a senior stakeholder. Ask a basic question without being judged. Admit they don’t understand x,y,z or the tech. Say, “I don’t think this AI use case makes sense.” That’s when you know. That's when you also know difficult discussions can happen, debates will take place, decisions will get made, and people will stand behind them. I wrote an article what psychological safety actually looks like in AI sessions and what facilitators can do to create the conditions for it. Curious to learn your thoughts :) https://danavetan.substack.com/p/nobody-in-your-ai-workshop-is-willing