Can AI Help Students Practice Difficult Conversations?

Generative AI is already shaping how students learn, communicate, and engage with ideas, whether institutions are ready or not. A 2026 survey found that 95% of students and faculty are already using AI in educational contexts, yet only one in four institutions has a formal policy governing that use. For campus leaders, the question is no longer whether AI will influence how students engage across differences. It's whether institutions will have any say in how that happens.

In this webinar, CDI Research Scientist Ryan Carlson will present findings from CDI's new white paper, Can AI Teach Dialogue Skills to College Students? Drawing on emerging behavioral science research, he'll walk through three distinct roles AI can play in constructive dialogue education—as a coach, mediator, and conversation partner—and explain what the evidence currently supports and where the risks lie.

CDI's Director of Education Jake Fay will then share an early look at how CDI is applying these findings in practice. Perspectives with Personalized Practice, CDI's updated online learning program, uses AI to deliver immediate, adaptive feedback on students' dialogue skills. Built specifically for dialogue coaching, the tool is grounded in the same research presented in the white paper.

The session will close with live Q&A.

What You'll Discover

• The three roles AI can play in dialogue education—coach, mediator, and conversation partner—and how the evidence and risks differ across each.

• Why pedagogical design separates effective AI dialogue tools from generic AI, and what "guardrails" actually mean in practice.

• An early look at Perspectives with Personalized Practice and what CDI is learning from its beta.

Expert Panel

Moderator: Mylien Duong, Chief Impact Officer, Constructive Dialogue Institute

Featuring:

• Dr. Ryan Carlson, Research Scientist, Constructive Dialogue Institute

• Dr. Jake Fay, Director of Education, Constructive Dialogue Institute