AI Can Bridge Divides and Find Common Ground
â–Ľ Summary
– Complex Chaos is developing AI tools to help people find common ground and reach consensus, rather than widening differences.
– The startup’s tools use AI like Google’s Habermas Machine and OpenAI’s ChatGPT to generate questions, set conversation goals, and summarize documents.
– In a trial with African climate delegates, the tool reportedly reduced coordination time by 60% and helped 91% of participants see perspectives they would have missed.
– The company aims to shorten negotiation times by helping groups quickly process new information and reposition without lengthy breaks.
– Complex Chaos is targeting both climate negotiations and corporate strategic planning, where it could streamline multi-team, multi-timezone consensus processes.
The challenge of making democracy function effectively has become increasingly apparent, and while many believe technology exacerbates political divides, a new startup argues that artificial intelligence can actually help bridge differences and build consensus. Complex Chaos, founded by Tommy Lorsch and Maya Ben Dror, is developing AI-driven tools designed to foster mutual understanding and streamline group decision-making.
Lorsch described his inspiration as a realization that people often turn to AI for simplified explanations. He wondered if the same technology could act as a facilitator, helping individuals grasp opposing viewpoints and identify shared objectives. While their initial testing focused on climate negotiations, the founders emphasize that their approach applies to virtually any contentious issue. The core mission is to enhance cooperation and significantly reduce the time groups need to reach agreements.
Lorsch distinguishes their work from conventional collaboration software. Platforms like Slack or Google Docs, he notes, are built for collaboration, but cooperation involves a fundamentally different dynamic. Facilitation typically requires skilled human mediators, a process that becomes cumbersome across different time zones or locations. AI, however, offers a scalable alternative.
Encouragement came from Google’s development of an LLM known as the Habermas Machine, which is explicitly designed to generate consensus statements that represent both majority and minority perspectives. Complex Chaos integrates this technology with OpenAI’s ChatGPT to formulate discussion questions, define conversation goals, and condense lengthy documents.
In a recent pilot program, the startup’s tool assisted young delegates from nine African nations as they prepared for United Nations climate talks in Bonn, Germany. Ben Dror explained that the aim was to help these delegates unify their positions internally before engaging with other negotiating blocs. During large-scale talks, blocs often must pause proceedings to internally reassess new information, creating significant delays. The AI tool aims to minimize this friction by accelerating internal realignment.
Results from the trial were promising. Participants reported coordination time dropping by up to 60%, and an overwhelming 91% said the AI helped them recognize perspectives they would have otherwise overlooked.
Beyond international diplomacy, Complex Chaos is marketing its cooperation tool to corporate clients, including technology firms and major consultancies. Lorsch points to annual strategic planning as a parallel challenge, a process that can consume three months of negotiations across multiple teams and time zones. AI has the potential to condense this timeline dramatically.
Still, the founders express particular excitement about the implications for climate diplomacy. Ben Dror believes that if AI can simplify and shorten these critical processes, the benefits would extend far beyond environmental policy to any major global challenge requiring collective action.
(Source: TechCrunch)
