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Mapping the pattern and flow of dialogue


Envisaging the AI-enhanced Future of the Conferencing Process (Part #6)

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Mapping dialogue: It should be asked why there has been so little interest in mapping dialogue, whether as it happens or thereafter, especially in the case of critical gatherings whose efficacy has been called into question. Possibilities are evident in the technology now applied to simultaneous representation of passing patterns in ball sports such as football. Understood as "Dialogue Mapping", a particular approach to the process has been trademarked (Jeffrey Conklin, Dialogue Mappingâ*¢: building shared understanding of wicked problems, 2005).

From that perspective, it is described as:

Dialogue Mappingâ*¢ is a radically inclusive facilitation process that creates a diagram or 'map' that captures and connects participants' comments as a meeting conversation unfolds. It is especially effective with highly complex or "Wicked" problems that are wrought with both social and technical complexity, as well as a sometimes maddening inability to move forward in a meaningful and cost effective way. (A Tool for Wicked Problems: Dialogue Mappingâ*¢ FAQs, CogNexus Institute)

Restricting use of innovative technology under the constraints of intellectual property is clearly a challenge to be anticipated in relation to the uptake of AI (Future Coping Strategies: beyond the constraints of proprietary metaphors, 1994). This has been evident with respect Syntegration®, an innovation developed in the light of management cybernetics by Stafford Beer (Beyond Dispute: The Invention of Team Syntegrity, 1994).

A particular AI capacity that merits attention is the transformation of the traditional text-oriented role of minute-writing or transcription. There is little technical constraint on exploration of the manner in which any debate can be visually mapped as points are made -- as exemplified by media visualization of passing patterns in ball games, in the process of scoring.

More intriguing is why no such effort is required in the debates in plenary conferences and breakout sessions. It could be argued that this is due to a high degree of tolerance of the repetition of related points, an unconstrained investment in delegate "self-expression", and a collective complicity in avoiding visualization of that reality. This is evident in the extensive summary of the concluding day of the unprecedented UN Special Session dedicated to the COVID-19 pandemic (Amid Threat of Catastrophic Global Famine, COVID-19 Response Must Prioritize Food Security, Humanitarian Needs, Experts Tell General Assembly, UN Meetings Coverage and Press Releases, 4 December 2020).

Topic maps and Debate Graph: Anticipating the role of AI are the arguments presented by Jack Park in an initial proposal for augmenting dialogue maps (Boundary Infrastructures for IBIS Federation: Design Rationale, Implementation, and Evaluation, Knowledge Media Institute, The Open University, 2010). His argument has been variously clarified:

Developed by David Price with Peter Baldwin, DebateGraph is an award-winning web-platform for visualizing and sharing networks of thought -- and opening reasoning and action to collaborative learning and iterative improvement. Users can create their own maps and explore those contributed by others, including:  CNN, the White House, the UK Prime Minister's Office, The Independent, and the Foreign Office. DebateGraph offers a means of creating, exploring, and understanding individual maps of thought, dialogue, and debate -- and the graph of interconnected maps -- through a set of complementary and cognitively enhancing visualizations (Jack Park and Marc-Antoine Parent, Topic Maps: Romancing Conversation Topics, SlideShare, 2020).

Mapping in virtual reality: A wider range of possibilities are discussed in the following, notably with respect to use of polyhedra to explore the coherence of a dialogue:

Transformation maps: The progressive transition to dependence on AI is illustrated by the "transformation maps" used by the World Economic Forum in its promotion of a Global Reset, as discussed separately (Transformation maps -- as "strategic mandalas"? 2020). The relevant introduction to the nature of such maps is by James Landale, Director of  Strategic Intelligence Content and Partnerships at WEF (What is a Transformation Map? WEF, 8 November 2017):

The World Economic Forum's Transformation Maps -- a constantly refreshed repository of knowledge about global issues, from climate change to the future of work - are now publicly available for the first time and free of charge. But what are they? And what can we do with them? What exactly are the Transformation Maps? Transformation Maps are the World Economic Forum's dynamic knowledge tool. They help users to explore and make sense of the complex and interlinked forces that are transforming economies, industries and global issues. The maps present insights written by experts along with machine-curated content. Together, this allows users to visualise and understand more than 250 topics and the connections and inter-dependencies between them, helping in turn to support more informed decision-making by leaders.

The maps harness the Forum network's collective intelligence as well as the knowledge and insights generated through our activities, communities and events. And because the Transformation Maps are interlinked, they provide a single place for users to understand each topic from multiple perspectives. Each of the maps has a feed with the latest research and analysis drawn from leading research institutions and media outlets around the world.

It is unclear the degree to which such maps are considered to be generic or are subject to trademarking constraints, as is seemingly implied (Viewing and Registering Transformation Maps, Oracle). It is appropriate to note that mapping has a long history of proprietary constraint. This may become evermore evident as use of the relevant algorithms and design metaphors are subject to such constraints -- notably as engendered by AI, potentially governed by similar constraints.

Historical, concurrent and anticipatory mapping: The points highlighted above tend to conflate the distinctions between:

  • mapping a dialogue which has occurred, as might be undertaken in dialogical analysis of debates which have occurred, much as is done with the intensive analysis of chess games of the past. This can be understood to include the systemic analysis underlying transformation maps
  • mapping dialogue concurrently, moment-by-moment, as any debate progresses, namely through the visual incorporation of points and links, as enabled by DebateGraph, for example -- although less evident as a feature of the use of transformation maps in the debates of the Davos Forum
  • anticipatory mapping, characteristic of scenario building, potentially implied by some forms of transformation maps, and as might be a feature of proactive intervention by AI.

Some forms of mapping could be understood as independent of time, as might be a feature of a learning environment in which a map is reconfigured in response to user inquiry -- as can be the case in a planetarium display, or in the visual replay of any game. Of interest then is the potential inclusion of features reflecting perspectives held to be erroneous from other perspectives. This is a feature of the approach of the profiling of problem, strategy and value networks in the online databases of the Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential. This has made use of the design metaphor, termed hierarchical edge bundling, closely corresponding to that currently used in the WEF transformation maps, as illustrated separately (Transformation maps -- as "strategic mandalas"? 2020).

The map metaphor -- especially given its conventional "flat-earth" projection -- helpfully implies the cognitive challenge of what is distorted or omitted in its presentation, as discussed separately (Missing "halves" of the Global Reset mandalas? 2020). The methodology of the Encyclopedia specifically endeavours to include perspectives which may be deprecated by some constituencies, although valued by others.

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