It’s no surprise that along with the rest of the world, AI has drastically changed the debate circuit as well. Today, a debater can generate a case in the time it took to find a single card, which is why we decided to explore that shift with team captains Veer and Anthony in this month’s interview. They tell us a bit about what AI is actually good for in debate, how it can supplement a debater’s work, and how it could make you worse (if you’re not careful).
It’s also good timing. This Septober (September/October), the national Public Forum topic is “Resolved: The United States federal government should enact a moratorium on hyperscale data center construction”. During our PDA Summer Camp, we got a sneak peek of the common arguments facing this topic, and a good amount of them deal with the ramifications of AI development on productivity, politics, and everything else. There’s something fitting about researching a resolution on AI’s energy and environmental costs by asking an AI to help you research it—so might as well learn to do that responsibly. With that said, here are Veer and Anthony’s best tips on using AI in debate.
1. AI is good at grunt work, so simplify the research and brainstorming grind.
They’ve used tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity to figure out a birds-eye view of different topics, which can be as simple as asking AI to list and explain the pros and cons of a resolution. Use it to get oriented, but also make sure to beware of its hallucinations. So do a lot of gut-checking, Googling, and link-clicking to make sure the information is actually true.
2. Cut speeches down to meet word count.
This is especially helpful for your cases and blocks, since they’re the largely pre-written parts of the debate round. AI can trim redundant phrases, reword things more concisely, and cut by a specific amount of words to reach your desired time.
3. Use AI to guide you directionally.
This doesn’t mean “let AI write your case!”. Instead, it can stress-test your arguments and guide your responses—for example, finding common counterarguments and poking holes in your cases.
4. AI can act as your study buddy or personal tutor, too.
One of the most convenient aspects of AI is that it’s there 24/7, whenever you need it. So if it’s 2 AM, you’re doing a mock debate tomorrow, and you have no topic knowledge, it’s super easy to bounce questions back and forth with AI the way you would with a teammate. It’s especially helpful for explaining bureaucratic processes and other political/economic complexities that show up often in debate.
Overall, remember that AI is a tool for you to become a better debater. AI should not replace your role in the debate. For all the younger debaters out there, Veer and Anthony make it clear that at the highest levels of debate, the presence of AI is minimal at best. Ultimately, the real skills you build up in debate, like thinking on your feet and speaking clearly, are pretty hard to fake—even by artificial intelligence.
