Debate Dossiers

Pick a fight.

Argument dossiers on the questions people actually search: AI regulation, AI and jobs, AI in school, AI art, TikTok, social media for minors, UBI, nuclear. Both sides, a sample round, a judge ballot. Then argue it yourself.

AI & technology
AI Regulation
Should AI Be Regulated?
Safety vs innovation. Does binding regulation prevent more harm than the innovation and security ground it costs?
MediumQuick Clash / BP / PF adaptable
AI & Labor
Will AI Replace Human Jobs?
Replacement vs reshaping. Does new work absorb the loss faster than AI creates it, or does the displacement outrun the adjustment?
MediumPF / Parli / Quick Clash
AI & Education
Should Students Be Allowed to Use AI in School?
Access vs the struggle. Does AI build the skill school exists to teach, or skip it?
EasyPF / Parli / Quick Clash
AI & Copyright
Should AI-Generated Art Be Copyrighted?
Authorship vs output. Does protecting AI output reward human creation, or just reward owning the machine?
HardLD / Parli / Quick Clash
Tech & Security
Should the US Ban TikTok?
Security vs speech. Is the security threat specific enough to justify silencing a platform 150 million Americans speak on?
MediumPF / Parli / Congress
Tech & Youth
Should Social Media Be Banned for Minors?
Harm vs enforceability. Does a hard ban prevent more harm than it causes, and can it be enforced without surveilling everyone?
MediumPF / Parli / WSDC
Economy & society
Economics
Is Universal Basic Income a Good Idea?
Universality vs targeting. Does an unconditional floor buy enough security to justify paying people who do not need it?
MediumBP / Parli / PF
Climate & Energy
Is Nuclear Energy Worth the Risk?
Firm power vs cost. Is firm, carbon-free power worth the cost and the tail risk, or do renewables get there faster and cheaper?
MediumPF / Parli / Policy
AI Risk
Is AI a Threat to Humanity?
Existential risk vs near-term harm framing. Is the danger best fought as existential risk or as present-tense harm?
MediumQuick Clash / BP / PF adaptable
AI Policy
Should AI Be Banned?
Risk avoidance vs benefit forfeiture. Is the harm only avoidable by prohibition?
HardQuick Clash / BP / PF adaptable
AI & Law
Should AI Have Legal Rights?
Moral personhood vs legal personhood. Is legal personhood the right tool for a non-conscious system?
MediumBP / LD / Worlds
AI Philosophy
Is AI Conscious?
Functional vs phenomenal consciousness. Is functional behavior sufficient evidence of consciousness?
HardLD / Worlds / BP
AI & Law
Should AI Replace Judges?
Consistency vs procedural legitimacy. Is consistency worth losing the human element of judgment?
MediumBP / PF / Policy
AI & Healthcare
Should AI Doctors Replace Human Doctors?
Diagnostic accuracy vs care quality. Is diagnostic accuracy the right metric for replacing doctors?
MediumPF / BP / Policy
AI Policy
Should AI-Generated Content Be Labeled?
Transparency vs enforceability. Does labeling work as a remedy, or is it security theater?
EasyQuick Clash / PF / BP
AI Policy
Should the Government Control AI?
Public accountability vs state capture. Is the state the right actor to govern AI?
MediumBP / Worlds / Policy
AI & Defense
Should AI Be Allowed in Warfare?
Decision speed vs human dignity. Can law-of-armed-conflict obligations survive autonomous decision speed?
HardWorlds / BP / Policy
AI & Environment
Is AI Bad for the Environment?
Direct footprint vs net climate effect. Is the footprint big enough, and the offsetting use real enough, to call AI a climate harm?
MediumPF / BP
Education
Should College Be Free?
Access vs incentive design. Does free tuition fix the access problem or just the price problem?
MediumQuick Clash / PF / BP
Economics
Should the Minimum Wage Be Raised?
Worker income vs employment effects. Are the employment effects large enough to offset the income gain?
MediumPF / BP / Quick Clash
Civics
Should the Electoral College Be Abolished?
Majoritarianism vs federalism. Is the system for majorities or for unions of states?
MediumPF / BP / Worlds
Economics
Should Billionaires Exist?
Distributive justice vs incentive effects. Is extreme wealth a sign of innovation rewarded, or of capture extracted?
MediumBP / Worlds / PF
Criminal Justice
Should the Death Penalty Be Abolished?
Retribution vs irreversibility. Can any retributive benefit survive the wrongful-execution problem?
MediumLD / BP / PF
Public Health
Should Vaping Be Banned?
Youth harm vs harm reduction. Whose health does the policy primarily serve?
EasyQuick Clash / PF
Urban Policy
Should Cars Be Banned in City Centers?
Public space reclaim vs access for the dependent. Is the access cost to the dependent worth the public-space gain?
EasyQuick Clash / BP
Criminal Justice
Should Prisons Be Abolished?
Restoration vs incapacitation. Can a non-carceral system handle the cases prisons are meant for?
HardWorlds / BP / LD
Education
Should Schools Bring Back Oral Exams?
Authentic assessment vs equitable measurement. Does oral assessment fix the AI-faking problem without creating worse ones?
EasyQuick Clash / PF
Education
Should Debate Be a Required Subject?
Civic skill vs curriculum tradeoff. Is the civic-skill payoff worth what gets cut to make room?
EasyQuick Clash / PF
Education
Should Homework Be Banned?
Practice vs equity. Does homework close the gap or widen it?
EasyQuick Clash / PF
Education
Should Standardized Tests Be Abolished?
Measurement vs distortion. Do alternatives produce less bias than the tests they replace?
MediumPF / BP