The May 31 edition of the Globe and Mail featured a story on how “in a conflict (with U.S.) fought as much on stage as in the marketplace, Canada can craft a savvy new script.” The Globe polled five different Canadian “experts”; from business and academia. Here’s a selection of their ideas:

Give headlines in exchange for leverage. “Offer performative wins that cost little – or even buy us leverage in return. The 2026 USMCA review will not be a legal negotiation; it will be a political performance. The Trump administration will seek loud symbolic victories.”

Create controlled chaos. In the fight for sovereignty, “control the story to control the choices. Canada should engineer an Artic crisis for trade leverage. Trump seeks narrative dominance through strategic chaos: disruption that traps opponents in constant instability and reactive decision-making. Control of the story means you define the debate, dictate choices and assign meaning to actions. Canada should take the narrative initiative. Traditional diplomacy is at a disadvantage in an asymmetric information war.”

Trade but diversify – “Oil is Canada’s unique economic hard power… Trade oil for removal of all tariffs, on all Canadian industries. Oil can be a tentpole under which all other sectors are sheltered.” At the same time, advance alternate paths to trade energy.

Leverage our markets. Trade access to Canadian markets in exchange for investment commitments (including potentially new ones from old foes; e.g., China). Adapt, given old rules and norms seem to no longer apply.

The best offense is a good defense. Use the tax system as protection for Canadian businesses damaged by the trade war; i.e., incentivise investment and re-investment in Canada.

Today’s personalities and events necessitate creative ways to expand the negotiations pie, counter zero-sum strategies, and what might William Ury’s (negotitions) trust menu look like for this conflict?

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Understanding Myelin

Myelin is a fatty substance that wraps around nerve fibers in the brain, acting like insulation on electrical wires. Its main job? To protect and speed up the transmission of signals between brain cells. The more you practice a skill, the more myelin builds around the relevant neural pathways—making that skill (or bad habit!) faster, stronger, and easier to recall.

Myelination peaks in our earliest years, and again in adolescence. Anything you do repeatedly in your myelin years develops huge, efficient branches in your neural network. Intense emotional moments have a similar effect. That early programming sticks. “Our plastic brain is like a snowy hill in winter…“

Why This Matters for Conflict Skills

Conflict resolution isn’t just a theory—it’s a set of behaviors. Whether it’s staying calm, listening actively, or reframing disagreement, these actions are physical habits rooted in our brain and neurobiology.

I’ve been immersed in the field of conflict resolution for over 25 years; learning, applying the craft, training others…. My world has involved working with adults, of all ages, in a variety of contexts. The adult brain changes slowly. Myelination is slower as we age. I can vouch for that fact.

One-time training is only the beginning 

A conflict resolution service provider can help shape learning experiences, but they cannot build a circuit in someone else’s brain. That’s going to take a lot of repetition.

In Habits of a Happy Brain, Dr. Loretta Graziano Breuning suggests repeating the same activity for 45 consecutive days (and if you miss a day, start over from day 1) to consolidate a new neural pathway; habit. I’ve tried her approach and found it a challenge and rewarding (when I stick to the process). Real skill-building—like responding constructively to criticism or defusing tension—takes repeated practice.

Building new habits, as a practitioner

With the AI tools available to us today, its easy, too easy, to generate a pretty infograph (LinkedIn is littered with them) outlining ten ways a leader can do this or that; e.g., foster a psychologically safe workplace, create a culture of collaboration, jumpstart innovation, etc.  Unfortunately, those tips have little to do with myelination and new habits development.

When retained by a client to provide a service, be it as a coach, mediator, trainer, faciilitator, or consultant, yes, first stop the client’s bleeding. Then, if the dynamic warrants, shift the focus to development of sustainable constructive behaviours through repetitive practice.  Neuroscience advances have doubled down on “neurons that fire together, wire together.”

Takeaway

To build true conflict competence, create regular practice opportunities. In a workplace context, that might involve personal action plans, role plays, team meetings, peer coaching… The key is repetitive practice. Coupled it with rewards. Learning is a neural pathway built by repetition and rewards,  There’s sure to be an app for you to support your initiative on that front.

You won’t be able to change undesirable neural superhighways laid down in early life, yet you can learn to wire in some good new pathways. It won’t be as easy as in youth, yet intentional thoughtful repetition works. Consistent repetition of constructive behaviours fosters myelin growth, and habits worth owning.

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The Winner

We, The Data is an eye-opening, gripping look at the ways in which humanity is being codified, monitored, and tracked at alarming speed and intensity — in largely unaccountable ways. Understanding how data is being collected, why, and by whom are central to grappling with the legislative protections needed to ensure Canadians continue living with dignity and autonomy. Wong expertly argues that this understanding is central to democratic freedoms and the ongoing protection of citizens’ human rights. We, the Data is a highly compelling and original book about the risks to society when the drive to collect data outpaces our capacity to contain it, and how to fix it before it is too late. Balsillie Prize jury

Wendy Wong is a Professor of Political Science and Principal Research Chair at the University of British Columbia

I read Wendy’s book. Going to Youtube I found and watched a presentation by Wong, about her book and work, from earlier this year, at the Institute for Futures Studies in Sweeden.

The presentation, and an excellent q&a that followed, are worth the watch and listen.

Datafication and Human Rights

With assistance from some generative AI, here’s a guide to ten key terms and concepts in Wong’s presentation:

1. Datafication refers to the increasing transformation of human activities and experiences into digital data. It’s a human rights issue because this process often occurs without our full understanding or consent, potentially impacting our autonomy, dignity, and equality.
2. Data stickiness describes the persistent nature of data. Once created, data is difficult to erase, remains linked to other datasets, and can endure indefinitely. An example is facial recognition data collected from public spaces, which can be stored and analyzed without our knowledge or control.
3. Data stakeholders. Wong urges us to move beyond the passive role of “data subjects” and embrace the active role of “data stakeholders”. This involves recognizing our inherent stake in how our data is collected and used, and demanding more transparency and control over these processes.
4. Datafication and privacy. Wong argues that focusing solely on privacy is insufficient because it fails to address the broader social and political implications of datafication. Datafication impacts not only our individual privacy but also our collective well-being, influencing social interactions, political discourse, and access to opportunities.
5. Human rights. The four core values underpinning the human rights system are dignity, equality, autonomy, and community. In the digital age, these values are challenged by datafication’s potential to erode individual dignity through surveillance, perpetuate inequalities through biased algorithms, restrict autonomy through manipulation, and fracture communities through targeted content.
6. Platform governance refers to the power wielded by tech companies like Facebook and Google to set rules and moderate content on their platforms, effectively shaping online interactions and information flows. An example is Facebook’s Oversight Board, which uses human rights frameworks to judge content moderation decisions.
7. Data scraping boundaries. OpenAI scraping YouTube videos exemplifies the potential consequences of neglecting established norms. This act violated copyright laws and YouTube’s terms of service, highlighting the urgent need to establish clear guidelines and enforce existing regulations in the digital realm.
8. Data literacy encompasses understanding how data is created, used, and interpreted. Wong argues it should be a human right because it equips individuals with the knowledge and critical thinking skills to navigate the data-driven world, ensuring informed participation and protecting against manipulation.
9. Libraries as hubs for data literacy education. Wong envisions libraries as crucial hubs for promoting data literacy. Libraries can leverage their existing infrastructure and expertise in organizing information to develop and deliver educational programs that empower communities with data skills and critical awareness.
10. The “collective action problem” in the age of datafication arises from the difficulty in identifying and mobilizing groups affected by data-driven decisions. Algorithmically determined categories often remain opaque, hindering the formation of collective action to challenge or change these processes.

Concluding thoughts

Its easy to go down the rabbit hole on the topic of data. Of particular interest to me is the data literacy aspect, and how to promote it. I’m a big fan of the community role libraries can play, not to mention a prolific reader of books. As someone whose spent most my professional life dealing with information systems and data, in one form or another, I hope to spend more time in 2025 learning and doing data literacy.

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You don’t know many people at the party. You notice the emotion of discomfort as your stomach clenches and your breathing gets constricted. Your mind labels that as feeling awkward.

Yet, someone else, at that same party, with those same emotional bodily sensations, might label the experience as exciting because they get to meet new people.

Feelings can be different from person to person in the same scenario.

Emotions and feelings are different

Emotions are real-time data sparked (literally, as in neurochemicals) by sensations in the body. They are the raw data, a reaction to the present reality; e.g. discomfort.

Feelings can be more biased. They can be watered down versions of emotions by stories we’ve created in our head based on events of the past or fears of the future. Those feelings aren’t necessarily the whole truth of the situation.

Listening to our bodily emotions, informed by our sense perception, helps us connect to the reality of our present situation. From our truth, we can make decisions that are right for us. Maybe, this party isn’t as awkward or exciting as my initial reaction?

Developing emotional awareness can help prevent reactivity and false beliefs. Conflict is inevitable. How you respond to it isn’t. Emotions are the raw data available to better conflict management.

Respond to conflict with emotional intelligence

By being more emotionally intelligent, smarter with feelings, you will more accurately recognize emotions in yourself and others (the roots of empathy).

Being in tune with your emotional raw data will help you make decisions and craft effective solutions to the conflict challenges you face each day.

When triggered by conflict, whether it is a precipitating event or by one of your “hot buttons”:

Name your mental feeling(s). “Name it to tame it.” A feelings inventory can help with emotional literacy. And, you may have many feelings to negotiate with.

Ask yourself – How do I know this feeling to be true based on the signals in my body? Tune in to yourself. Are what you are experiencing: physically, thinking, and feeling aligned? The Six Seconds model of emotional intelligence helps build that self-awareness. I use it.

Choose a constructive response to conflict. Choose to respond with behaviours that de-escalate the conflict. The Conflict Dynamics Profile is my guide, my tool of choice.

Make it a habit. With intention and repetitive practice, constructive responses can become hard-wired.

So, next time you find yourself at a party, and have that emotional pang in your gut, maybe you’ll know exactly why you feel the way you do, and act accordingly.

The post Emotions are data: Respond to conflict with emotional intelligence appeared first on Collaborative Journeys.

The article focused on negotiation strategy. As the Globe is behind a paywall, and not accessible to all, I’m sharing some of the article’s important messages.

A plan for mutual benefit

“We need a plan that identifies where our national interests converge and where we can deepen the relationship, including trade but not just trade, for our mutual benefit”

Winning cards

“Canada holds winning cards and now needs to focus on the most impactful ones. We should be playing our hand with the confidence of a country that has many of the answers to the problems that others face.” These include:

• • Arctic security. There is a new opening to take the lead on Artic security, and aligned with U.S. and NATO interests.
  • Energy security. We are the best alternative to China and Russia when it comes to potash, uranium, critical minerals and natural gas
  • AI expertise. Canada’s world-leading expertise in AI is of interest to the U.S. and our other international friends; security.
  • Access. If nativist U.S. immigration policies bar the door to global talent, Canada is conveniently only a hop, skip and jump away

We have successes to celebrate.

It falls on us to provide examples; to communicate our success stories.

Above all else

“Mr. Trump, as his aides will remind you, loves two things above all else: tariffs and negotiating. Canada’s task is to shift this attention from the former to the latter through a select collection of sectoral and security pacts.

Some might consider bargaining with Trump-led United States to be ill-timed at best, immoral at worst. But the classic counterbalancing options – a massive sales push to Chaina and India, or rapidly grow Canada’s population – are simply not on the table.”

Canada’s best approach

“Canada’s best approach, given Mr. Trump’s incomprehension of the concept of a win-win, is to quickly forge relationships with the new team, right up to the president, and move forward with a set of strategic proposals that transcend transaction bargaining. The focus should be on doing things together in areas where we can clearly help them, and sometimes where only we can help.”

(The vision) “In keeping with geopolitical pressures, combine security, economy and “continentalize” (co-investment, co-procurement, co-production) a limited number of joint activities. Our modern “Auto Pact 2.0” includes Artic security, critical miners, energy and advanced technologies.”

“Canada’s main mission now lies in marshalling our confidence to make bold policy decisions at home that enable us to become a more valuable “friend” to our biggest partner and the other friends we have in common. No one else has as much of what they (U.S.) need as we do.”

End Note

As negotiations ramp up and evolve, what level of trust will emerge at the negotiating tables? What signals of trust can each country send in advance of formal negotiations, to the other? For me, William Ury’s Trust Menu comes to mind. 

The post How Canada should negotiate with the new Trump administration appeared first on Collaborative Journeys.

You can upload various types of files to NotebookLM, give it an ask, and watch it “generate” …

Focused on AI, I wanted NotebookLM to intersect the big thinking of 1) noted author and historian, Yuval Harari, 2) author and entrepreneur, Max Bennett, and 3) the perspectives of Colin Rule, a leader in the field of Online Dispute Resolution.

Source materials I provided to Notebook LM

I provided NotebookLM with links to:

• An interview of Yuval Harari, about his new book, Nexus, focused on the history of information networks. The 2-hour interview (I first heard it in podcast format) took place on Dax Shepherd’s Armchair Expert. Its available as a podcast or video.
• A presentation on AI and Mediation: Working with the Fourth Party  This presentation was prerecorded for the upcoming Association of Conflict Resolution conference. Refer to my previous blog post for more about that presentation.
• A Brief History of Intelligence: Evolution, AI, and the Five Breakthroughs That Made Our Brains, Max Bennett’s book.

I chose those files as I had read Bennett’s book, and watched and listened to the entirety of the videos; both the interview and the presentation.

My specific ask of NotebookLM

I asked Notebook LM to:

“create a 5-minute podcast based on the intersection of 1) the Yuval Harari interview, 2) Colin Rule’s AI and Dispute Resolution presentation, and 3) Max Bennett’s book about evolution, the brain and AI – include elements of Bennett’s book about what’s still missing in AI based on how our brain works.”

NotebookLM’s output  

After I hit ‘generate’, within two minutes, NotebookLM provided me with an 11-minute audio overview (yes, I know, they went overtime on my ask), in podcast format; e.g., with two hosts discussing the source material provided. The hosts sounded human, very human, with human mannerisms. In reality, the hosts were computer-generated.

Here’s the generated 11-minute audio. Tell me it isn’t amazing, and scary.

NotebookLM will also generate, if asked, based on the sources provided to it, output: a FAQ, Study guide, Table of contents, Timeline, and Briefing doc. In my case, I made the asks and it generated all of those outputs in 2 minutes, total.

In my assessment, the NotebookLM AI hosts/experts provided a logical, and fair, representation of the source materials, and how they intersect. My one gripe is that it didn’t incorporate Bennett’s work enough. Maybe a different query wording is in order?

As their ending/bottom line, the AI hosts keyed on trust – how can we trust the AI algorithms?

While I grasped the importance of trust when digesting each of the information sources individually, I did not fully appreciate why trust, and associated control mechanisms to ensure trust, must be at the core of future human-centred AI development. I have thank NotebookLM for the nudge.

What next?

Good, innovative ideas build on existing knowledge and ideas.

In a complex world, NotebookLM can help you make sense of the now, and find those good, new ideas. For example, in the field of mediation, good ideas, in the form of solution options, are gold.

No matter your field of endeavour, onwards, with AI, and trust.

The post AI product demo: How Google’s NotebookLM helps manage complex information appeared first on Collaborative Journeys.

Click on the image below for the full presentation:

The Fourth Party

The fourth party refers to the tech assist for a mediator working virtually; e.g., mediator and two disputing parties are all in different locations; the tech, the fourth party tools, e.g., Zoom, help everyone work together.

I first applied the fourth party when I was working as a mediator (contracting to SquareTrade) of eBay transactions in the early-mid 2000’s. With the proliferation of AI tools, how tech can be considered and applied has grown exponentially since those early Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) times.

There is no one more qualified in the ODR field than Colin Rule to speak about AI and dispute resolution/mediation. Colin led much of eBay’s early ventures in ODR and he remains the guru on all things ODR. Have no fear – the presenters communicate the information clearly, including some historical perspective.

ACR presentation slides

What follows are a few summary slide screenshots from Clare and Colin’s presentation. Details are provided in the presentation. The whole presentation is worth a listen/watch.

(RAG LLMs = Retrieval-Augmented Generation Large Language Models; e.g. ChatGPT40)

AI-assisted tools

End Note

I’ve used and/or tried some of the above applications and tools.

Many in the presentation I don’t know or even heard of! Things are changing fast. The tech is moving so fast that human-centred application will remain an ongoing challenge.

Stay tuned. In my next post, I demonstrate a new experimental AI tool not even touched on in the ACR presentation.  Crazy stuff.

The post AI and Mediation: Working with the Fourth Party appeared first on Collaborative Journeys.

The video touches on public hearings, why they are problematic, and ways to fix the problems. The video provides good discussion fodder. I summarize some of the key points, problems and fixes, made in the video, and offer more, from my perspective as mediation professional and participant in local land-use planning.

Problems with Public Hearings

• Public hearings are not useful for gauging broad public opinion
• Public hearings are not an effective way for public to influence decisions by council
• There are too many delays and costs associated with the current public hearings process

Some remedies

• Ban hearings if the application fits with the Official Community Plan (OCP)
• Provide more options to get public input (eg online platforms). From my perspective in Victoria, the City of Victoria does very good work, communications-wise, when it comes to in-person engagement; e.g., at community forums to gather input into the OCP.
• Timing of public hearings – its always better to get public input sooner than later.
• Resident assemblies – a random selection of volunteers (e.g., 25 residents, volunteers, selected to be part of the municipality of Gibson’s resident assembly) to give resident input to the OCP. The Gibson’s pilot is part of the SFU – Renovate the Public Hearing initiative. That initiative includes other pilots for public (hearing) notification signage (Burnaby Pilot), and youth engagement (majority of public hearing attendees are older, resistant to change, have time…), in collaboration with City Hive.

In conjunction with a renovation of the public hearing process

The resident assembly approach (as I understand it) is focused on providing citizen input to a municipality’s OCP. Individual applications from a developer; especially rezoning applications of larger scale and complexity, can be a beast of their own, inadequately addressed via any OCP guideline.

A revamped hearing process should be synced with a more fundamental civic approach to addressing challenging (eg. Scale, complexity) rezoning interests. The mutual benefit approach to mitigating land-use conflict is called for as it focuses on addressing individual projects, ones invariably of a complex multi-stakeholder nature.

Incorporate mutual benefit strategies

• Supplement the pre-application stage of land-use rezoning application with a Situation Assessment – preferably under the auspices of a municipally-appointed third-party neutral
• Enhance the community’s capacity to constructively negotiate re: a proposed project – this is necessary for more fair and equitable distribution of power, between community, developers, city
• Conduct education and training in the collaborative problem-solving and mutual gains approach – this will benefit all stakeholder groups

(For more on these mutual benefit strategies refer to: 3 Mutual-benefit strategies to reduce conflict and improve the land-use application process, on this blog)

And, because it irks me so, civic government needs to be more accountable from a communications lens. For example, the City of Victoria website re: land-use rezoning is 99% textual – that feels somewhwat conspiratorial, given our visually-oriented times. My City needs to provide a better way to communicate, at least at a higher level, how the system works, to the interested citizen.

Your thoughts? How would you improve the land-use rezoning process, while respecting system complexity?

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Frans de Waal in his 2022 (and last) book, Different, created a table (see below) of Common vocabulary in relation to human sex and gender. The table is a handy reference for those of us not fluent in today’s sex and gender terminology.

(De Waal was one of the world’s leading primatologists. His speciality was the study of bonobos and chimpanzee behaviour. I had read earlier works from de Waal. Sadly, de Waal passed away earlier this year, at the age of 75. Neuroscientist Peggy Mason posted a beautiful tribute to de Waal on her blog.)

Common vocabulary in relation to human sex and gender

* This is the medical definition of human sex. In biology, sex is defined by the size by the size of gametes (such as sperm and eggs), with females having the larger gametes.

** In the United States, the term gender is increasingly used for biological sex, including even that of animals, which is not its original meaning.

*** When gender and biological sex agree, the person is said to be cisgender.

Further on gender, from de Waal

• In the ape world, social dominance also includes generosity (not just about being a bully).
• Our gender radar is always on – our social software was written millions of years ago. For men, this means keeping an eye on their fellows.
• We (humans) should marry the anthropological view of brotherhood with the psychological view of sisterhood. Both are plain to see and powerful.
• Conciliatory possibilities – if conciliatory tendences are shaped by biological evolution, (de Waal asks us to) think of the additional possibilities open to cultural evolution. We are the only hominid with a balance between male and female bonding and are the most culturally flexible to boot.
• While our civilization values intellect, education, and experience, we still fall for crude body parameters that have no bearing on these qualities. We look down on the brute force we believe underpins the natural order, proud to have left “might is right” behind, yet we remain stubbornly sensitive to our specie’s sexual dimorphism in height, muscularity, and voice. Turning this situation around will require more than a gender timer and few new debate rules. a good start would be to appreciate the evolutionary roots of these biases.
• Human social organization is characterized by the unique combination of 1) male bonding, 2) female bonding, and 3) nuclear families. We share the first with chimps, the second with bonobos, and the third is ours.
• 2 layers of empathy – emotional empathy relies on reading body language (the oldest) level of empathy. Our more cognitive-oriented empathy sits on top of the emotional.
• Grandmother hypothesis – the reason why evolution gave us menopause is that as a reproductive strategy its the best way for older women to advance their genetic legacy is to help their daughters raise children
• “Nature loves variety. Unfortunately, society hates it”. (de Waal quoting Milton Diamond)
• Motivation is hidden – motivation behind behaviour rarely includes the goals for which it evolved. For example, reproduction is the evolutionary goal of nurturance, yet it typically isn’t part of its motivation
• Trouble with dualism – the more radical the notion of gender as a social construct, the less room remains for the body
• Move away from body-mind dualism – its out of touch with everything we have learned from modern psychology and neuroscience. The body, which includes the brain, is central to who are what we are. By running away from our bodies, we only run away from ourselves.

Thank you, Frans.

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Connected to my interests in human communications, I enjoy reading about people who have spent their lives working with animals. They were absorbed in the worlds of animal communications and relationships.

Three animal authors whom I’m hooked into are Temple Grandin, Cesar Millan, and Frans de Waal. Recommended books by them that I’ve read (and/or re-read) include:

Some of the common elements that I’ve discovered, and that bridge the species covered by those three animal experts, I feel can/should be adapted to our human species.

3 strategies for better communications and conflict management  

Hyper-specificity.  Animals are detailed oriented. Humans are generalists. Animals know exactly who they are dealing with. They experience reality, viscerally. They are attuned to difference. We humans have “inattentional blindness”, courtesy of our large brains. Our brains interpret everything. That person in front of us? We are quick to judge without knowing much about them. Through awareness of our own senses and emotions we can be more present, dial in, to their story and uniqueness. Its from that uniqueness that constructive conversations and relationships emerge.

Seek out and work with the raw data. Animals have privileged access to lower levels of raw information. Their senses are acute.  Their sensory focus often differs from humans. For example, dogs first smell, then see, then hear. This is opposite to humans. Animals sense energy as we can only dream to. Their memories are extreme. Normal people see and hear schemas, not raw sensory data. The ability to problem-solve under novel conditions, e.g., wicked problems, requires raw data. That’s been my experience, whether as an IT consultant, mediator, or innovation facilitator. Explore as many solution options as possible, before murdering your darlings, and converging on the best.

Move away from mind-body dualism. The vast majority of communications is non-verbal. It’s also involuntary. The notion that our mind and body is separate is out of touch with everything we have learned from modern psychology and neuroscience. “The body, which includes the brain, is central to who we are and what we are. By running away from our bodies, we only run away from ourselves… Our conciliatory tendencies are shaped by biological evolution.”  Emotional intelligence and neurobiological understanding flow from a sound mind-body awareness.

Biomimicry

We have much to learn from nature, and the animals we share this world with. Biomimicry is a practice that learns from and mimics the strategies used by living organisms to solve challenges comparable to the ones we face as individuals and societies. I sense we have only just begun this mimicry journey.

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