Can AI teach people empathy? Researchers are resolving workplace conflicts with a digital twin

Aalto University Professor Niina Nurmi and Senior University Lecturer Ville Eloranta are developing an AI-based method aimed at resolving workplace conflicts – ideally before they happen. The TeamTwins software is already used by more than one thousand users in Finnish and multinational companies as well as public sector organizations.

‘Conflicts, negotiations, cultural awareness, and decision-making are areas where AI hasn’t yet been able to help teams. But now it can help develop empathy,’ says Ville Eloranta.

The method has three parts. First, team members complete a survey that uses selected, factor analysis–based measures to map out interpersonal dynamics. In the second phase, the compatibility and incompatibility of different profiles are examined in relation to one another.

‘For example, the tool can bring to light factors that may trigger conflict or friction between two team members or across the team. On the other hand, it can also identify a kind of power pair where one person feeds ideas and the other drives them forward,’ says Nurmi.

The final phase is a workshop where the team runs real-time, face-to-face simulations, receives support for potential interaction challenges, and learns why team members may not fully understand one another.

This has a huge impact on team effectiveness: studies show that trust can make teams up to 285% more effective. Potential conflicts identified by the AI can also be discussed in advance—before they surface.

‘The tool acts as a kind of digital mirror or twin that helps you reflect on your own traits, attitudes, and ways of working in relation to teammates and partners,’ Nurmi says.

The AI can also give each team member individual development suggestions in the context of their specific team, or analyze differences within a leadership group – for example, in attitudes toward adopting new technology.

Who protects, who free-rides, who gets overloaded?

Increasing diversity – bringing different ways of thinking into teams - can sometimes lead to clashes and difficulties in understanding. According to the researchers, it’s typical for conflicts to escalate in multidisciplinary and multicultural teams, stifling innovation and halting creativity, even though the seeds of innovation lie in those very differences.

‘The application is designed to solve the paradox of team conflict. On the one hand, we want teams to have conflicts, to disagree, and to challenge each other. On the other hand, conflicts shouldn’t target individuals or the process,’ says Eloranta.

The method defines several internal team roles, such as protector, innovator, driver, mediator who tends to team chemistry, and quality monitor who ensures the team is doing the right things. These roles help identify factors that support or hinder collaboration – such as free-riding and perceptions of fairness - as well as potential sources of overload.

‘Participants feel seen and heard, which in turn makes them want to see and hear others,’ Eloranta says.

The method has been studied extensively in the International Design Business Management (IDBM) program at Aalto University, which Nurmi and Eloranta have led for ten years. Nurmi also leads a two-year Business Finland–funded project, “Human-AI Collaboration and Leadership – Shaping the Future of Work,” where researchers use AI to develop both leadership and social skills. Project partners include Hanken, Futurice, Kemira, Terveystalo, the Finnish Association of Work Life Research, Aalto EE, and Academic Engineers and Architects in Finland (TEK). During the project, dozens of teams from Finland’s largest organizations have been and will be trained at Terveystalo.