Complex Chaos, a burgeoning startup co-founded by Ben Dror and Tommy Lorsch, is developing an advanced tool designed to help individuals and organizations reach consensus on complex issues. The company wants to better the game of communication overall, though especially in high-stakes situations such as international climate negotiations. Through the power of artificial intelligence, Complex Chaos hopes to create productive and meaningful exchanges that allow people from very different backgrounds to discover shared values.
Ben received a PhD in environmental science, policy and management from the University of California at Berkeley. He explains why consensus-building is more important than ever today. He and co-founder Maya Ben Dror have developed a truly game-changing tool. They are still in the midst of pitching it to tech firms and big consultancies.
The startup recently trialed its AI tool with young delegates from nine African nations at a United Nations campus in Bonn, Germany. The goal of the program was to equip these young delegates with the skills and knowledge to engage in climate negotiations. We couldn’t have been more successful with our trial! In fact, participants reported being able to reduce their coordination time by as much as 60%. Additionally, 91% of the participants reported that the new AI tool assisted them in identifying ideas and viewpoints they would not have considered.
Dror stated, “Our goal is to help the delegates arrive at consensus as a bloc before they began negotiations with others.” Focusing updates where they are most needed increases efficiency and keeps all voices in the community heard — ensuring all perspectives are included in the decision-making process.
Tommy Lorsch, who currently leads as CEO, pointed to the wider applications of their tool outside of climate change to show the utility of their tool. He remarked, “If AI can shorten these processes, simplify them, then we’d be so much better off. Not just for climate, for anything sustainability, for any big challenge that we’re facing.” Lorsch hopes that when AI is used as a facilitator, it can change the way humans interact with each other to enable more productive conversations.
In a competitive landscape where various software solutions focus on collaboration, such as Slack and Google Docs, Lorsch noted the unique position of Complex Chaos. He explained, “Everyone is building software for collaboration like Slack, Google Docs, whatever. This is basically an AI that generates group consensus statements where people feel represented both majority and minority points of view.”
If successful, the startup’s innovative approach will have wide-ranging implications for shaping equity and environmental justice discussions in every sector. We’re using AI to combat misinformation and disinformation, to clarify complex concepts in the public space. This strategy increases communication between stakeholders and fosters collaborative solutions.
Dror expressed optimism about the future of AI in consensus-building: “What if we use it as a facilitator to help people understand each other and find common ground?” This aspirational vision especially infuses a growing recognition of AI’s remarkable promise and potential. It not only accelerates processes, but improves them by cultivating empathy and understanding among all stakeholders involved.