PLURITAS: Precision Learning Using Responsive Interactive Teaching and Agent Simulation

Interpersonal skills to support conflict resolution in an inhomogeneous workforce are a critical need in any organization. However, Equal Opportunity (EO) training is often cited as the least cost-effective training within an organization. Recent studies suggest that training towards a direct objective (e.g., increasing awareness of the challenges that your coworkers may face due to differing backgrounds, teaching approaches to respond within those situations) may produce better results than general training around a topic (e.g., diversity and inclusivity; Evelyn et al., 2020). Furthermore, the inclusivity landscape is in constant evolution, which makes it difficult to ensure that training is consistently focused on the desired objectives.Although high-fidelity DEI simulated trainers exist, these systems: (1) are not tailored to DEOMI’s use case, (2) cannot both support rapid development cycles and interactions expressing high-behavioral fidelity, and (3) do not leverage ecologically validated methods for individual trainee assessment and tailored learning. To support the development of focused, timely, and valid EO training, our team proposes PLURITAS, a plug-in designed to expand the capability of existing DEI behavioral simulators with AI-powered context driven conversation built on an adaptive learning backend. Initial PLURITAS integration will be with USC’s high-fidelity DIVIS interview trainer platform.