Facilitating The AI Risks Collage

Preparation, running order, timing and advice. Everything you need to facilitate a first workshop.

about 2.5 hours 4 to 8 per table 1 facilitator 38 cards in 5 sets, plus the intro card

Download the guide (PDF) Download the 39 cards PDF · in French

Version 1.0 · September 2026. This online page is the authoritative version: a downloaded PDF does not update itself. The guide is a first version; adjust the timing and examples to your group. The printed cards are in French. Feedback is welcome on Discord or at contact@pauseia.fr.

In short

The AI Risks Collage is a collaborative workshop for understanding what is at stake with AI, with no technical background required. Participants receive cards standing for concepts linked to AI risks, and connect them with arrows. The cards come in five sets, added one after another so the collage grows richer. The facilitator helps, but the momentum and the thinking come from the participants: the knowledge is on the cards, the intelligence is in the group.

Goals

  • Give everyone a clear, structured picture of what is at stake with AI, reflecting the scientific consensus, with no prerequisites.
  • Spark a debate where everyone takes hold of the concepts and contributes to the group's thinking.
  • Make the cause-and-effect links visible, rather than a list of isolated facts.
  • Move from risks to possible responses, so the workshop ends on a constructive note.

Before an in-person workshop

Materials:

  • One printed set of 38 cards per table (ideally in colour), plus the intro card.
    Print specification: A6 format, double-sided, no binding, 3 mm bleed on each side. Preferably in colour on 160g satin paper.
  • Paper, ideally 1 × 2 m (sold in rolls at art or DIY shops).
  • Pencils, coloured pencils or markers for drawing the arrows.
  • Erasers.
  • Tape or adhesive putty.

The room:

  • One table per group of 4 to 8, large enough to spread the cards out.
  • Chairs, and room to walk around the tables.

Before an online workshop

To facilitate remotely, use the online collage and a voice room (Discord, Google Meet, Teams…). Plan for smaller groups than in person: speaking turns flow less easily at a distance.

Practical advice

  • Read the cards beforehand, run a collage yourself once, and learn the five sets. Nothing replaces having lived it as a participant.
  • Start on time: time lost at the beginning is never made up.
  • In person, plan the material constraints (printed cards, tables, roll of paper) and arrive at least 15 minutes early to set the room up.

How the workshop runs

Timings are indicative: adapt them to the format and the audience. The heart of it is the discussion, so keep time for sets 3 and 5.

  1. 0

    Welcome and warm-up · 15 min

    Set the frame and create a friendly climate. Go round for first names, introduce yourself, then present the workshop, its goals and the ground rules. Put down the intro card. Remind everyone that the workshop is collaborative: everyone takes part, and everyone respects other people's ideas and opinions.

  2. 1

    Set 1 · AI · 15 min cards 1 to 6

    Lay the groundwork: what is an AI model, how is it trained, and what explains today's progress? AI model, training data, growing capabilities, work automation, "grown, not programmed", black box.

    Facilitation note: let the group place the cards and draw the first arrows. Do not correct too quickly; an imperfect collage that sparked discussion beats a perfect one that was dictated.

  3. 2

    Set 2 · Capabilities · 15 min cards 7 to 13

    Explore what AI can do today and how widely it is used. Autonomy, image generation, content recommendation, robotics, text and code generation, recurring strategies, emergent capabilities.

    Facilitation note: link this set back to the previous one (capabilities come from data and compute). Ask for examples participants have met themselves.

  4. 3

    Set 3 · Present-day risks · 30 min cards 14 to 27 and 30

    The heart of the workshop: the risks already at work, made possible by AI capabilities and by insufficient safeguards. Deepfakes, unreliability, environmental impact, skill erosion, mental health, bias and discrimination, malicious use, cyberattacks, misalignment, systemic risks, content flood, bioterrorism, strategic deception, systems of control, the race ahead.

    Facilitation note: this is a lot of cards. Hand them out in two waves, let the tables organise themselves, and walk around to help with the links. Welcome the emotions (worry, scepticism) without judging: they are normal.

  5. 4

    Set 4 · Existential risks · 20 min cards 28, 29, 31, 32 and 33

    What is at stake when systems become more capable than humans and escape their control. Lethal autonomous weapons, artificial general intelligence (AGI), existential risks, loss of control, superintelligence.

    Facilitation note: keep an open stance. These cards carry debated scenarios; the aim is to understand the mechanisms, not to impose a conclusion.

  6. 5

    Set 5 · Solutions · 20 min cards 34 to 38

    The collage ends with the responses Pause IA argues for. AI safety research, red lines, an international moratorium on frontier models, democratic oversight, independent third-party evaluations.

    Facilitation note: connect each response to the risks it addresses. Ending here keeps the group from leaving with a sense of powerlessness.

Transition · 10 min

This phase consolidates what has been learned and gives participants time to make the collage their own. Ask them to rearrange it, to improve it visually (a title, a few drawings), and to pick out two or three key links. With several tables, have people move around to see the other collages.

Discussion · 25 min

Two approaches, as you prefer:

  • Introduce a topic and let participants debate it.
  • Let them raise their own questions and remarks.

Adapt the discussion to your audience and how familiar they are with AI. Separate what is already here from what belongs to scenarios: name the uncertainty. Close with a short summary of the collage and one concrete first step anyone can take (read up, talk about it, or facilitate in turn).

If things get difficult

Someone is distressed by the subject. Name the emotion rather than working around it: "this is heavy material, it is normal to be shaken". Remind them the workshop ends on possible responses, and offer a break. Do not try to reassure with arguments: listening is enough.

Someone disputes a card. Welcome the objection, it is a good sign. Point back to the text on the reverse and to the group: "what do the others think?" If the disagreement holds, write it on the collage as an open question rather than settling it. "I do not know, I will check" is a perfectly good answer.

The group disengages. That is almost always the sign of a set that ran too long, or of a stance that became too top-down. Cut it short, move to the next set, and hand back control: have the quietest people place the cards, or ask for an example from their own experience. An unfinished but lively collage beats a complete and silent one.

Facilitation advice

The stance to aim for:

  • Listen, without judging.
  • Stay factual and measured: avoid both fear and dismissal.
  • Share out speaking time if some participants take it over.
  • Adapt to your audience.

During the workshop:

  • Let the group place and connect the cards. Step in as little as possible: the workshop should spark discussion, not replace it.
  • If needed, first suggest re-reading the cards.
  • If a concept is misunderstood, step in and clarify only what is necessary.
  • Do not be afraid to say you do not know, and look it up for next time.
  • Watch the clock: you will not have time for every card, and that is fine.
  • If you run several tables at once, spread your visits and give shared explanations once, to everyone.
  • Try to leave nobody out, especially if the group is mixed in background.

Variations

  • Short format (1 h): focus on sets 1, 3 and 5, and keep the discussion light.
  • Remotely: the online collage reproduces the shared board; plan a voice room and smaller groups.
  • Young or non-technical audience: spend more time on sets 1 and 2, with everyday examples of AI and its uses.

After the workshop

  • Send the group an e-mail: thank them, mention what Pause IA does, and share the site link to download the cards.
  • Invite those who enjoyed it to facilitate in turn. That is how the Collage spreads.
  • Come and share how it went with the other facilitators.