VishnuArtistsWho Is Really Coaching Here – You or the AI?
21.10.2026 · 4 Min · Benedikt Irsch
Be honest: have you ever had an AI summarise a coaching protocol? Generated a training agenda and sold it as your own? Phrased feedback that sounded smarter than you? I have. I work with AI every day, and that is exactly why a few questions will not let go of me.
Three questions hardly anyone asks out loud
When is a text still mine if the AI wrote the first draft? Do I owe the person in front of me a note that a machine was thinking along, or is that as self-evident as a spell checker? And if a concept now takes twenty minutes instead of three hours: may I still charge my full fee? Anyone who answers quickly has usually not thought the question through.
A working group for uncomfortable answers
That is why the German Association for Coaching and Training (dvct e.V.) is launching the working group “AI Ethics in Coaching & Training”. I lead it together with Dr. Franz Hütter, a scholar of both the humanities and the natural sciences, author and founder of the NET OF BRAINS think tank. Franz brings research from neuroscience, communication and AI; I bring practice from more than ten years of agile transformation and the AI-supported work systems we use every day at Vishnu Artists. The group is moderated by dvct board member Gudrun Held.
The topic map for the kick-off
Transparency: when do I have to disclose that AI was involved? Boundary: where does the tool end and where does it start replacing me as a coach? Shadow AI: when people use AI despite a ban, is that rule-breaking or a symptom of bad rules? Value and fees: what are clients actually paying for, my time or my judgement? Authenticity: am I fully present in a conversation while a tool takes notes in the background? Data protection: what may happen to recordings and client data, and what has no business in NotebookLM and the like? And the red lines: simulating people, secretly recording conversations and using a motive analysis to sell the next package. Where do you draw the line?
Kick-off on 12 November: how it works
Thursday, 12 November 2026, 18:00 to 19:30 CET, online via Zoom. Not a lecture but a dialogue built on real stories: Franz and I bring cases from our everyday work, each one an open question to the group. You write along on the Miro board, vote with dots on which topics make it to the stage, and anyone with something to add joins the fishbowl. The kick-off is exclusive to dvct members, and the association sends the Zoom link by email. After that, the working group meets once a quarter. Over time this should grow into orientation for our whole profession, ideally as shared guidelines.
Not a member, or busy on the 12th
Then join the Vishnu AI Café. On Tuesday, 17 November 2026, from 17:05 to 18:15 CET we run the session again, on Zoom and open to guests. Same questions, same board, a different group. Signing up takes a minute: click “Join” on vishnuartists.com/ai-cafe.html or send a short email to info@vishnuartists.com with the subject “AI Café 17.11.”. The dial-in details come by email.
Why we do this
We help teams and organisations bring AI into their work. That only works with a clear stance on what AI may take over and what stays with people. That stance does not come from a desk, but from conversations with the people who coach and train every day. The decisive question is not what AI can do, but what it should be able and allowed to do. And who decides that: you or the AI?
Transparency note: this text was written with AI support, and the images are AI-generated. I reviewed both and take responsibility for them. Notes like this one are exactly what we want to talk about.