The AI-assisted Consensual Debating is a complete service offered by Consensus AI, the subsidiary of Sustensis. It includes a random selection of participants (if needed), the preparation of the initial documentation and training, the selection of any experts, as agreed with the customer, the running of the debates and delivering the final report. Rapidly increasing AI capabilities will soon enable our service to be even more user friendly and cost-effective, greatly enhancing human expertise with the AI expertise.
The key features of Consensual Debating are:
- The debates can be organized as ‘in-person’, online, or hybrid.
- Very fast, consensual decision-making supported by the latest AI Assistant.
- It can be used for in-person debates for groups from tens to hundreds of participants.
- It can replace referenda by enabling on-line voting over a period of weeks or months by tens of thousands randomly selected participants from a national electoral register
- The supporting documentation can be prepared and distributed in a day or two instead in months.
- Participants can remain anonymous and debate indirectly with other participants.
- There are several rounds of anonymous voting, unlike in Focus groups or on YouGov website, where the participants can only vote on one motion or decision.
- In Consensus AI Participants can amend the recommended decision or propose their own, on which other participants can vote, which may lead to a significantly modified final decision.
- After each vote, or at the end of the voting round, the participants can see real-time graphs showing their voting preference relative to other participants
- The actual time for decision-making is cut from months to a few days or weekends
- The agreement on the final decision is made gradually until 60% majority is achieved
When at least one statement achieves 60% majority, there is a final deliberation. All statements that have achieved 60% majority or more are put on the final list. Only the top 5 statements, which have gained more than 60% support are listed as 5 options. The participants then vote on them using the Single Transferable Voting with Extended Threshold (STV-ET) method. This is a preferential voting when voters order their preferred choice from the most preferred to the least preferred. This time the motion which received 66% support (rather than 60%, because some decisions might require a super majority), is the one which would be put forward to the sponsor (organizer) of the session for a decision. This final vote is also automated but can be replaced by a paper voting, if such is a legal requirement. Depending upon the mandate of the Consensual Debating received from the sponsor, it can be a mandatory decision or an advisory resolution.
To show you how Consensual debating works in more detail, we have used the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) expansion project as a Case Study where you can try it yourself and vote in real time, comparing your preference to other Londoners, if you happen to live in London. Vote on the statements as if it were a real debate and see how your vote impacts all previous voting. Although debating is anonymous, please refrain from offending statements.To see the animated overview of the whole process click on the picture below. Please wait until the download completes and then click on the download.
The access to other debates, which are are in the right sidebar, is only available to authorized users. The first debate is LONDON ULEZ, which as mentioned earlier, is a Case Study debate, you can practice live how the Consensual AI works.You do not need any credentials.
Consensual Debating facilitates any debate. However, we take no responsibility for the accuracy of the data, its processing, nor for any omissions and misinterpretation of information provided by the organizer (sponsor), our team or by ChatGPT Assistant.