Socially intelligent computers can turn difficult online negotiations into win?win situations through tactical information disclosure
Programming fundamental ‘social intelligence’ skills into software agents can make humans substantially more trusting of online negotiations, which can lead to superior outcomes in e-commerce transactions, finds an A*A*STAR-led team of technology researchers, business experts and cognitive scientists.
Automated software agents that bargain for the best deals on the Internet are widely used for business-to-business sales and processes. However, as people are naturally skeptical of negotiations lacking face-to-face contact, engineers are seeking ways to make such software less intimidating.
Yinping Yang from the A*STAR Institute of High Performance Computing explains that it is challenging to create a computerized negotiator with enough social skills to put people at ease. “These agents have to elicit cooperative behavior such as making concessions while maintaining the negotiation goals,” says Yang. “This requires transdisciplinary knowledge of business and social communications as well as careful computational coding of social-psychological rules.”
Yang and her collaborators from academia and industry realized that one way for computers to gain the trust of human negotiators was to proactively share certain information. For example, the software agent could express that its priority is distribution and offer one price for immediate delivery of merchandise and a lower one for delivery in two weeks — a flexibility that signals a willingness to search for mutual benefits.
To test their theory, the team gave 54 MBA students the opportunity to bargain with software designed to simulate the real-world purchasing of laptop computers. They instructed the students to negotiate with an online agent over four key factors — price per unit, quantity, service level and delivery terms — while keeping in mind that their top priority should be obtaining a low unit price.
Read more: Social technology Solving the trust equation
The Latest on: Social technology
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Social technology” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Social technology
- Academic Approach to AI Maturing as Technology Evolveson May 9, 2024 at 12:14 am
At the Digital Universities U.S. event in St. Louis, digital transformation, the pandemic’s aftermath and the ongoing rise of AI were front and center.
- Goodwill Industries CEO: Social sustainability means focusing on everyone's needson May 8, 2024 at 3:40 pm
Opinion: Recycle your plastics and find greener solutions to your daily lives, but do not forget that the foundation of sustainability is people.
- Is Social Media Good for Relationships?on May 8, 2024 at 1:34 pm
Social media is here to stay and can impact relationships in a variety of ways. Communicating around social media use is critical to the relationship.
- Tackling climate change with social scienceon May 8, 2024 at 10:22 am
Tackling the climate challenge is requiring everyone to change the way we think about our homes, our lifestyles, and our investments. Australians are embracing the energy transition, with rooftop ...
- A TikTok Ban Won’t Fix Social Mediaon May 8, 2024 at 10:06 am
You can take the platform away from American users, but it is far too late to contain the habits that it has unleashed.
- New rules for social media companies could change everythingon May 8, 2024 at 9:51 am
Banning under-18s from social media platforms could be introduced if big tech companies don’t take more responsibility with protecting users.
- The most dangerous encounter to avoid in social mediaon May 8, 2024 at 7:00 am
Artificial intelligence has made social engineering scams more sophisticated. They are scams by which criminals exploit trust for money or information.
- DJT stock rebounds since hush money trial low. What to know about Truth Social tradingon May 8, 2024 at 3:04 am
Trump Media is known by experts as a meme stock. During its six weeks on the stock market, shares have swung wildly. What to know about ticker DJT.
- UK Demands Tougher Age Checks By Social Media Firmson May 8, 2024 at 12:55 am
Pleasing almost nobody, the U.K.'s media regulator has warned that social media companies must stop their algorithms recommending harmful content to children, and put ...
- Levounis: Parental controls are limited in managing kids on social mediaon May 7, 2024 at 5:01 pm
No amount of parental controls or media monitoring software can match the effect of open and honest conversations about social media habits with children and adolescents.
via Bing News