# InnerPond: Fostering Inter-Self Dialogue with a Multi-Agent Approach for Introspection

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.27563 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.27563/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Placed in Social simulation and multi-agent debate, one of 16 directions in LLM agents and tool use.
- Builds on 27 of its 129 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 29 Mar 2026.

## Placed in

- LLM agents and tool use / [Social simulation and multi-agent debate](https://mlsanity.com/agents/social-simulation-and-multi-agent-debate/)

## Builds on (most cited first, 27 of 27)

- [Generative Agents: Interactive Simulacra of Human Behavior](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.03442/) (2023)
- [Towards Understanding Sycophancy in Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.13548/) (2023)
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- [Character-LLM: A Trainable Agent for Role-Playing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.10158/) (2023)
- [PersonaLLM: Investigating the Ability of Large Language Models to Express Personality Traits](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.02547/) (2023)
- [From Persona to Personalization: A Survey on Role-Playing Language Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.18231/) (2024)
- [RoleLLM: Benchmarking, Eliciting, and Enhancing Role-Playing Abilities of Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.00746/) (2023)
- [Many Heads Are Better Than One: Improved Scientific Idea Generation by A LLM-Based Multi-Agent System](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.09403/) (2024)
- [CLIcK: A Benchmark Dataset of Cultural and Linguistic Intelligence in Korean](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.06412/) (2024)
- [LLM Discussion: Enhancing the Creativity of Large Language Models via Discussion Framework and Role-Play](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.06373/) (2024)
- [From Skepticism to Acceptance: Simulating the Attitude Dynamics Toward Fake News](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.09498/) (2024)
- [MindfulDiary: Harnessing Large Language Model to Support Psychiatric Patients' Journaling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.05231/) (2023)
- [IBSEN: Director-Actor Agent Collaboration for Controllable and Interactive Drama Script Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.01093/) (2024)
- [LLM Agents in Interaction: Measuring Personality Consistency and Linguistic Alignment in Interacting Populations of Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.02896/) (2024)
- [Building a Role Specified Open-Domain Dialogue System Leveraging Large-Scale Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.00176/) (2022)
- [Exciting, Useful, Worrying, Futuristic: Public Perception of Artificial Intelligence in 8 Countries](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2001.00081/) (2019)
- [How does HCI Understand Human Autonomy and Agency?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2301.12490/) (2023)
- [AutoCBT: An Autonomous Multi-agent Framework for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Psychological Counseling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.09426/) (2025)
- [SPeCtrum: A Grounded Framework for Multidimensional Identity Representation in LLM-Based Agent](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.08599/) (2025)
- [Letters from Future Self: Augmenting the Letter-Exchange Exercise with LLM-based Agents to Enhance Young Adults' Career Exploration](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.18881/) (2025)
- [Understanding Public Perceptions of AI Conversational Agents: A Cross-Cultural Analysis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.16039/) (2024)
- [Synthetic Human Memories: AI-Edited Images and Videos Can Implant False Memories and Distort Recollection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.08895/) (2024)
- [Mirai: A Wearable Proactive AI "Inner-Voice" for Contextual Nudging](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.02370/) (2025)
- [ExploreSelf: Fostering User-driven Exploration and Reflection on Personal Challenges with Adaptive Guidance by Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.09662/) (2024)
- [Leveraging AI-Generated Emotional Self-Voice to Nudge People towards their Ideal Selves](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.11531/) (2024)
- [AI-exhibited Personality Traits Can Shape Human Self-concept through Conversations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.12727/) (2026)
- [NoRe: Augmenting Journaling Experience with Generative AI for Music Creation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.01395/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Introspection is central to identity construction and future planning, yet most digital tools approach the self as a unified entity. In contrast, Dialogical Self Theory (DST) views the self as composed of multiple internal perspectives, such as values, concerns, and aspirations, that can come into tension or dialogue with one another. Building on this view, we designed InnerPond, a research probe in the form of a multi-agent system that represents these internal perspectives as distinct LLM-based agents for introspection. Its design was shaped through iterative explorations of spatial metaphors, interaction scaffolding, and conversational orchestration, culminating in a shared spatial environment for organizing and relating multiple inner perspectives. In a user study with 17 young adults navigating career choices, participants engaged with the probe by co-creating inner voices with AI, composing relational inner landscapes, and orchestrating dialogue as observers and mediators, offering insight into how such systems could support introspection. Overall, this work offers design implications for AI-supported introspection tools that enable exploration of the self's multiplicity.