Custom AI bots support student negotiating skills
Most participants reported improved preparation and strategic insight.
In Cambridge, instructors at MIT and the Harvard Negotiation Project are using AI negotiation bots to enhance classroom simulations. The tools are designed to prompt reflection rather than offer fixed answers.
Students taking part in a multiparty exercise called Harborco engage with preparation, back-table and debriefing bots. The system helps them analyse stakeholder interests and test strategies before and after live negotiations.
Back-table bots simulate unseen political or organisational actors who often influence real-world negotiations. Students can safely explore trade-offs and persuasion tactics in a protected digital setting.
According to reported course findings, most participants said the AI bots improved preparation and sharpened their understanding of opposing interests. Instructors in Cambridge stress that AI supports, rather than replaces, human teaching and peer learning.
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