Using Large Language Models for Humanitarian Frontline Negotiation: Opportunities and Considerations

TL;DR

This paper explores how large language models can support humanitarian frontline negotiators by providing case analysis and creativity tools, while addressing ethical concerns and evaluating real-world effectiveness.

Contribution

It introduces AI-assisted negotiation tools based on LLMs, evaluates their performance in real cases, and discusses ethical considerations for humanitarian use.

Findings

LLMs can enhance negotiation analysis and planning.

Negotiation tools showed promising stability and quality in case evaluations.

Ethical concerns like confidentiality and bias are critical for deployment.

Abstract

Humanitarian negotiations in conflict zones, called \emph{frontline negotiation}, are often highly adversarial, complex, and high-risk. Several best-practices have emerged over the years that help negotiators extract insights from large datasets to navigate nuanced and rapidly evolving scenarios. Recent advances in large language models (LLMs) have sparked interest in the potential for AI to aid decision making in frontline negotiation. Through in-depth interviews with 13 experienced frontline negotiators, we identified their needs for AI-assisted case analysis and creativity support, as well as concerns surrounding confidentiality and model bias. We further explored the potential for AI augmentation of three standard tools used in frontline negotiation planning. We evaluated the quality and stability of our ChatGPT-based negotiation tools in the context of two real cases. Our findings highlight the potential for LLMs to enhance humanitarian negotiations and underscore the need for careful ethical and practical considerations.