Who Carries the Process When the Coach Is an AI? Self-Access, Empathy and the Client’s New Responsibility | with Dr. Christina Mühlberger
Dr. Christina Mühlberger is a researcher in the social psychology team at the University of Salzburg, a certified coach, and a PSI trainer. Her work centres on self-regulation and inner alignment, and she is now running a large study that compares human coaching, AI coaching and a self-coaching booklet. Her question is a hard one: when the coach is an AI, who carries the process? In this conversation with Rebecca Rutschmann, she explains why handing the process to a human coach is something we do without thinking, and why with an AI the client may have to take it back. Her team briefs every participant before they start: it's your responsibility how you use this system. Challenge it. Ask for what you want. The risk is that humans lean toward the pleasant, and an AI that follows our lead can follow us away from the discrepancy, which is where coaching happens. Her research also points to a paradox on empathy: clients who perceive more empathy report better success, while coaches' own empathy ratings show no such link. What you'll take away: Why AI coaching may shift responsibility for the process from the coach to the client, and why briefing the user matters The difference between self-regulation and self-access, and what AI coaching can already support Why a positivity bias can pull an AI conversation away from the discrepancy Inner democracy versus inner dictatorship: self-regulation as integration, self-control as obedience The empathy paradox: what clients value that coaches underrate, and why imagining the other person's view matters Which responsibilities must stay in human hands: designing the system, checking whether it's really coaching, and briefing the client Links & Resources: Dr. Christina Mühlberger on LinkedIn University of Salzburg, Social Psychology team website Fostering self-development through AI-based coaching: Mechanisms of inhibition, activation, and intrinsic motivation Exploring self-regulation and self-access in AI-based coaching: The impact of the coaching relationship and self-disclosure (Springer, 2026) Fostering self-management competencies through AI-based coaching: mechanisms of inhibition and approach motivation, and intrinsic goal motivation (Taylor & Francis, 2026) Viva la Coaching League of Rebels & Coaching Lab Sessions The Edge of Human & AI
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