ASIDE: From Conflict Participants to Co-Observers Through Dyadic Spectator Reflection

2026-08-06

AI Summary

This work addresses the limitation of existing AI reflection tools in uncovering divergent interpretations between parties engaged in textual conflict. To bridge this gap, the authors propose a Dual-Spectator Reflection (DSR) mechanism that reframes conflicting individuals as co-observers of their interaction. The approach integrates AI-generated, revisable hypotheses about each participant’s internal states, pixel-art theater-style replays of key moments, a collaborative annotation interface, and “disagreement cards” to explicitly surface interpretive gaps at critical junctures. In an exploratory study with ten romantic couples, the system effectively enabled participants to transcend their individual perspectives and jointly revisit past conflicts through a shared, objective lens. This represents the first interactive paradigm specifically designed for collaborative reflection on relational conflict.

Abstract

When people argue over text, they share a record of what was said but may hold different accounts of what it meant. Existing AI reflection tools typically work from one person's account, while dyadic tools support co-expression without making interpretation gaps inspectable. We present ASIDE, a system for Dyadic Spectator Reflection (DSR). DSR follows the sequence externalize independently, then encounter together. From a past chat conflict, ASIDE creates a pixel-art theatrical replay with revisable AI-generated inner-state hypotheses. Partners first confirm hypotheses about themselves and separately edit their interpretations of the other. After both finish, they view the co-annotated scene together and review Divergence Cards that pair a confirmed account with the partner's reading at a specific conversational beat. In an exploratory study with 10 couples who revisited real text-based conflicts, participants described the theatrical replay as helping them step out of their roles and observe the conflict together. We contribute DSR as a reusable interaction structure for dyadic reflection and an exploratory account of how partners used it to revisit past text-based conflicts from a shared observer position.

Problem

• dyadic reflection
• interpretation gaps
• text-based conflict
• shared understanding
• conversational divergence

Innovation

• Dyadic Spectator Reflection
• theatrical replay
• inner-state hypotheses
• Divergence Cards
• co-annotation