PhD Thesis Proposal - James Hale

Title of Thesis Proposal:

AI-Mediated Dispute Resolution

 
Date and Time:

Friday 25 April 2025 3-5PM

 
Location: 

SAL 213

 
Committee Members: 

Dr. Jonathan Gratch, Dr. Gale Lucas, Dr. Jesse Thomason, Dr. Laurent Itti, and Dr. Peter Kim

 
Abstract: 

When conflict arises so does the possibility of potentially irreparable harm interpersonally, policitally, or professionally. Simultaneously, finding effective mediators, especially for those without the means to hire an expert, remains a challenge and may preclude resolution. In this proposal, I examine whether one can leverage recent advances in artificial intelligence to create automated mediators -- democratizing conflict mediation. First, I present a laboratory setting wherein we induce conflict in dyads of human crowd workers as they roleplay a buyer-seller dispute -- yielding the KODIS corpus. Second, we examine whether LLMs can understand emotion dynamics in KODIS to forecast dispute outcomes -- showing they can predict subjective outcomes, and uncovering escalatory spirals as the literature predicts. Lastly, I outline my plan to create automated mediators over the remainder of my PhD.

Location: Henry Salvatori Computer Science Center (SAL) - 213

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: James Hale

This event is open to all eligible individuals. USC Viterbi operates all of its activities consistent with the University's Notice of Non-Discrimination. Eligibility is not determined based on race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or any other prohibited factor.

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