AI Empty Chair
AI Empty Chair is a deliberation technique in which a large language model generates contributions in the voice of stakeholder groups who are affected by the topic but absent from the room. It is based on 'The Empty Chair', a research prototype by Suyash Fulay, Dimitra Dimitrakopoulou and Deb Roy at the MIT Center for Constructive Communication (2025), which transcribes a discussion live and produces simulated input from relevant missing stakeholders. The output is used to open up overlooked perspectives and to decide who needs to be asked in person; it does not stand in for those people.
Facilitation script
- 1
Name the absent stakeholder groups and explain the tool: it produces a simulated perspective from a language model, it will be labelled as simulated, and the group's task is to test it.
5 min - 2
Run the first part of the discussion as planned while it is transcribed or summarised.
15 min - 3
Pause. Generate the perspective of the first absent stakeholder on the discussion so far and show it to the group.
5 min - 4
Discuss the output: what was missed, what rings true, what is too general or stereotyped, and what the group cannot judge.
10 min - 5
Repeat with a second absent stakeholder if time allows.
10 min - 6
List the gaps and agree concrete outreach to the real groups, with owners.
5 min
Tips
Use the simulated voice as a question to the group and never as testimony.
Ask participants to challenge the output before they accept it, and give people who know the absent group the first word.
Keep it to one or two personas per pause, because more than that turns the session into reading AI text.
End every round with the same question: who do we need to ask for real?
Common pitfalls
Treating the simulated voice as representation. The group ticks the inclusion box and the real stakeholders remain unheard
Showing output without a clear label, so that participants later remember it as something a stakeholder actually said
Accepting generic or stereotyped statements. The authors of the original study report over-general outputs and participant scepticism about whether a model can characterise underrepresented groups accurately
Running many personas in a row, which shifts attention from the participants' own deliberation to reading machine text
Skipping the outreach step. Without real follow-up the session ends with speculation about people who were never asked
Variations
The original prototype works on a live transcript. A low-tech version uses a general AI chat assistant and a pasted summary of the discussion with a short persona description. To reduce anchoring, ask the group first to write down what they think the absent stakeholder would say, then compare with the AI output. In small groups each table can take a different absent stakeholder and report the gaps it found. The format is unrelated to the empty chair technique from Gestalt therapy and to the practice of leaving a chair free to represent the customer, although it shares the name.
Where it fits
When to use it
A group is deliberating on a policy or strategy that affects people who could not be included in the session
The discussion has converged and you suspect the agreement reflects who is in the room
You are preparing stakeholder outreach and want the group to see which perspectives it cannot speak for
Participants are willing to treat AI output critically and the facilitator can hold that frame
A citizens' assembly or advisory group wants a prompt for perspective-taking between sessions with real witnesses
When not to use it
The absent group can realistically be invited, interviewed or surveyed. Do that; a simulated voice is a weak substitute for participation
The result will be reported as stakeholder input or consultation. It is neither, and presenting it that way misleads decision-makers
The absent group is marginalised or already underrepresented and the topic is sensitive for them. The risk of stereotyped output is highest here, so work with representatives or advocates
The group tends to treat AI output as authoritative. Use a human perspective-taking exercise such as Stakeholder's View
The discussion contains confidential or personal information that may not be passed to an AI tool
Related methods
Frequently asked questions
What is AI Empty Chair?▾
AI Empty Chair is a technique for deliberative sessions in which a language model generates what absent stakeholder groups might say about the discussion. The facilitator shares that simulated input, clearly labelled, and the group uses it to find perspectives it has overlooked. It is based on 'The Empty Chair', a research prototype from the MIT Center for Constructive Communication.
Has the AI Empty Chair been tested in practice?▾
The published study describes one deployment, in a 19-person student citizens' assembly on campus sustainability. Participants and facilitators said the tool prompted new discussion and raised useful perspectives. They also doubted that a language model can accurately portray different groups, especially underrepresented ones, so the evidence base is a single small pilot.
Can AI personas replace missing stakeholders?▾
No. The researchers behind the prototype conclude that AI personas should complement real participation and not replace it, and that their limits need to be communicated clearly. A simulated voice is a plausible guess built from general patterns in text. Use it to identify who is missing and what to ask them, then go and ask.
Do I need the original tool to run this?▾
The prototype is a research system with live transcription. The same procedure can be reproduced by pasting a summary of the discussion into an AI chat assistant along with a short description of the absent stakeholder group. Check your organisation's rules on entering meeting content into AI tools first.
Is this the same as the empty chair in Gestalt therapy?▾
No. The Gestalt empty chair is a therapeutic technique in which a client speaks to an imagined person. AI Empty Chair is a group deliberation aid about missing stakeholder perspectives, and it has no therapeutic purpose. The two share only the image of a chair for someone who is not there.
Plan your next workshop with AI
Workshop Weaver helps you combine methods like AI Empty Chair into a complete, timed agenda in minutes.
Try it freeMethod descriptions on Workshop Weaver are original content written by our team, based on established facilitation practices. This method was inspired by work from Suyash Fulay, Dimitra Dimitrakopoulou and Deb Roy, MIT Center for Constructive Communication.