You can make the best decisions in conversation with AI.”

More than forty percent of Dutch people now have experience with generative AI at work. New research from Inholland University of Applied Sciences shows that we make the best decisions when we have important conversations with artificial intelligence.

The research consists of two experiments. In the first experiment, 14 finance students had to create a project plan in three stages: without the AI, by delegating decisions to the AI, and by talking to the AI.

In the third phase, students pitched their app ideas to a Shark Tank or Dragon’s Den judging panel made up of AI personalities like superstar investor Mark Cuban. In a conversational way, the students constantly presented their ideas to the characters and prompted them to make critical comments.

Students saw that the quality of their work became much better and more transparent by talking to AI – conversational AI – compared to without AI or delegated AI. They also accepted the results of others better using conversational AI. Repeating the experiment with 69 computer science students confirmed the results. “The research shows for the first time that you make the best decisions in conversation with artificial intelligence,” says researcher Ton Otten from Inholland University of Applied Sciences.

The explanation lies in the fact that large language models like ChatGPT are fun, they tend to agree with you and make you feel good. But opposition and contradiction achieve the best results. LLM holders can also do this very well, but you have to put that experience to work. This cannot be achieved by delegating tasks. If you ask the AI ​​to look critically at your inputs, things will go a lot better. If you create characters and form a jury that gives you feedback, AI excels. It then presents useful, critical, and diverse perspectives that make users aware of their blind spots. Human knowledge and intuition is crucial here. It is about synergy and the process of mutual influence.

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Generative AI has the potential to lead to better decision-making and better outcomes in business and education, provided we don’t use it on autopilot or let it answer questions, but rather allow us to ask questions.

Several major Dutch companies are interested in replicating experiments using conversational AI. An AI-based language assistant, developed by computer science students using conversational AI to improve the language skills of students with a multicultural background, will be introduced this fall with the Dutch Language Consortium and Caribbean partners. The university’s associate degree in finance and computer science includes conversational artificial intelligence in the curriculum.