CritiQ AI and SixHats Engine: AI-as-Judge Systems for Early-Stage Evaluation and Preference Formation in Collaborative Ideation

We present CritiQ AI and SixHats Engine, two web-based systems designed to extend AI-supported ideation beyond idea generation by providing structured evaluation and multi-perspective critique. Rather than producing new ideas, the tools help student teams examine the strengths, weaknesses, assumptions, and trade-offs of their proposals, which supports the early stages of idea selection and refinement. Combined with instructor oversight, these systems scaffold the evaluative and rationale-building work that precedes and informs convergence decisions in project-based courses.