If you have the mediator, why do you need the software?

(Photo credit below)

First there was the software program "Family Winner." Now there is newer version called "Family Mediator" which includes a mediator. But I cannot figure out why you need the software if you have the mediator? "From Divorce Software Designed to Handle Negotiations" . . .

Divorce is never pleasant, but new software is aimed at making the process a little less harrowing.

The computer program combines artificial intelligence, game theory and an electronic or human external mediator to help divorcing couples settle their disputes in a fair and rational manner—and hopefully with fewer gray hairs.

The software was created "to help couples settle divorce disputes by focusing on compromise." With that focus on compromise, might it hinder collaboration. Compromise and collaboration are not the same thing. The difference? You know; the lemon thing [PDF]. Say we both want a lemon. Compromise is when we split the lemon. Collaboration is when we talk and realize that I want the juice and you want the peel. By talking and collaborating, we each get what we want.

Here's how this software works . . .

The program, which is based on the game theory concepts developed by mathematician John Nash, separately asks the husband and wife to "rate" every disputed item by assigning points to each in a way that reflects each item's relative importance to him or her.

A wife might assign 30 points to the car, for instance, while the husband might assign only 20, indicating that the car is more important to the wife than to her spouse. In total, each person has 100 points to assign to all of the items or issues.

The software tallies all the points, creates an initial "trade-off map" and begins by solving the easiest dispute—the one for which there is the largest point discrepancy.

. . .

The person who "loses" the first dispute is given extra points to assign to the remaining issues. The trade-off map is revised and the software moves on to resolve the next "easiest" dispute, continuing on this way until all are resolved. The idea is to create a "win-win" scenario.

I am not sure I see how. Division of property is often more organic and less linear than this software-governed process. Do the parties get to explain why they have assigned the particular value? That "why" can shift the decision-making process. Are the parties in the same room? Are they talking? I could not tell from the article.

Since an early version of this program only focused on the needs of the husband and wife, its creators invented a later version which included the "needs of third parties, like children:"  "Family Mediator."

As the name implies, the software relies on a mediator—either a family law practitioner or an electronic decision support system, depending on the requirements of the institution using it—to ensure that decisions reflect the best interests of all involved, including kids.

I wonder how the "electronic decision support system" mediates? If you have a human mediator, what does the software add? Maybe a starting place for discussion? In what situations might this software be helpful? Let me know what you think.

The software is a research prototype but its designers are hoping for a grant to bring it to market.

And, perhaps not surprisingly, some family lawyers have already expressed interest in using it [one of the designers said].

The designers are Dr. Emilia Bellucci and Prof. John Zeleznikow. I applaud them for bringing their areas of expertise to the often-difficult process of marital dissolution. Maybe their science can assist some in the art of divorce mediation? How and when?

Photo credit: dmscs at morguefile.com. More at photomime.