Good morning, this is Kasmira. Earlier this year, a United Nations research institute designed a fictional AI avatar based on a Sudanese paramilitary combatant to help diplomats sharpen their negotiation skills. At the AI for Good Summit in July, the ICRC showcased an AI-powered virtual reality training kit to test humanitarians before they go into the field.
And in another example, in our interview today, we talk to Harvard lecturer and former ICRC adviser Claude Bruderlein about a new initiative ensuring new AI tools don’t drain organisations of talent but rather create even better negotiators. |
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Claude Bruderlein, a humanitarian negotiations specialist and an adjunct lecturer at Harvard Kennedy School of Government, speaking during a session on AI and diplomacy at the Gesda summit on 15 October 2025, (Gesda / Benedikt von Loebell)
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From AI avatars, chatbots, to virtual reality training tools, humanitarian and peacebuilding professionals – as well as tech firms outside the sector – are exploring a number of ways in which artificial intelligence might help them navigate high-stakes negotiations in conflict-hit settings.
Many of these initiatives remain in their infancy, as organisations cautiously pick their way through a minefield of ethical concerns and risks, including data misuse, these AI-driven technologies could bring to vulnerable populations that humanitarians are meant to protect.
For Claude Bruderlein, an adjunct lecturer at Harvard Kennedy School of Government and former strategic adviser to the International Committee of the Red Cross’s (ICRC) former president, Peter Maurer, it’s “high time” that organisations adopt AI frameworks and get on the front foot.
The humanitarian negotiation expert spearheads AI Negotiation Challenge, a US-based non-profit, volunteer initiative launched in January to train practitioners – diplomats, humanitarian workers and mediators – on integrating AI into their work. Through monthly simulations, where they recreate real-world scenarios, cohorts also learn the risks associated with using the technology.
Speaking to Geneva Solutions on the sidelines of the Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator summit in Geneva last month, Bruderlein explained how AI can equip organisations with better negotiators – if they embrace it.
Read the full story on Geneva Solutions.
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