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Healthy Debate

The public square is crowded and chaotic. We are constantly bombarded with too much noise for anyone to be able to filter or process it all. We do not know who to trust, or what to believe. Communities have become polarised in algorithm-reinforced echo chambers.

The constructive, objective, civil, and nuanced discussion necessary for a society to effectively function has been drowned out.

Others have described these problems in far more depth and detail than I can here. I am not looking to add another voice to that commentary. As a tech entrepreneur, I’d rather focus on building the solution.

That solution?

HealthyDebate.org

A revolutionary platform designed to host THE definitive debates. This will be the first in a series of articles establishing what HealthyDebate will be: a nonprofit organisation designed to elevate discourse and hold media accountable; a superweapon on the side of those seeking truth.

It will be the first debate platform to reframe the primary competition from vitriolic arguments between opposing sides, to a contest to produce the best arguments and evidence for each side.

A system that incentivises quality over quantity, and nuance over noise.

The innovative model enables an unprecedented level of depth without derailing any one debate. Opposing arguments will be held to account as every claim made is linked to the one definitive debate over that claim. Through successive challenges it will be possible to drill down to the foundations of why people hold their positions; are they castles built on sand or bedrock?

To this end, HealthyDebate also allows authors to identify the evidence upon which they base their views. The strength and reliability of this evidence could be challenged and debated in turn. This process will create a more robust crucible for ideas than any existing peer-review process.

Through the HealthyDebate framework, challengers may craft what could become the definitive rebuttal to a claim. Whenever and wherever this claim appears, this rebuttal would be seen. Instead of engaging in a thousand separate arguments, against a thousand different people, this system enables a challenger to refute them all in one stroke.

However, as in any HealthyDebate, it must compete to be the strongest rebuttal of that claim to become the most visible. All rebuttals must have merit as the claims made within it can be challenged in turn. Through this process the arguments of substance from both sides of the debate will soon become evident.

Crucially, HealthyDebate does not ever claim to be the arbiter of truth. It simply creates the framework through which a never-ending search for truth can occur. Each iteration of an argument will incorporate new evidence and feedback to help readers get closer to understanding the world as it really is.

With a commitment to the free expression of ideas expressed in good faith, authors can publish without the usual gatekeepers. They instead would rely only on the merit of their research and the strength of their arguments to succeed.

Through HealthyDebate, these authors will be able to reach a worldwide audience from across the political spectrum. The competitive arena will provide authors an unprecedented way to differentiate themselves from other commentators. Like winning a gold Olympic medal, success in HealthyDebate will be the best endorsement for their work.

There could be no more effective platform to sell books or gain subscribers. Through HealthyDebate, this can be achieved with just one well-crafted post instead of a constant churn of content.

Media Health Check

Trust in media and institutions around the world is at an all-time low. To ensure debates reflect (and shape) the discourse of society, HealthyDebate.org introduces Media Health Check. This will be a comprehensive database of media that could be analysed within this HealthyDebate framework. Every claim made within each article, speech, or video, is linked to its respective debate on the platform.

Trustworthy media would be able to use HealthyDebate to rebuild lost trust; it provides a unique opportunity to be transparent, defend arguments, display methodological rigour, and identify the wealth of supporting evidence. Such depth is simply not possible in any existing media format. Through this database all media, politicians, organisations, and academia can be held accountable.

No one has a monopoly on truth. HealthyDebate will be for those more interested in understanding the world as it is, than in political partisanship. Through open dialogue we may firmly establish the common ground that unites us, while allowing opposing viewpoints to be explored in a civil, informed, nuanced, and constructive manner.

Success hinges on the ability to be, and be seen to be, absolutely objective and non-partisan. There must be full transparency to avoid any suggestion of favouring one side or another. To build (and maintain) this reputation, HealthyDebate will be open source, with publicly available code and moderation guidelines. It will also be entirely crowdfunded to not appear to be beholden to special interests.

Healthy Debate is a registered nonprofit corporation in Delaware, established there to safeguard its ability to host free expression under the protections of the US First Amendment. The organization is currently awaiting IRS 501(c)(3) status, which, once approved, will allow donations to be tax-deductible.

This Substack series will establish the mission and values of HealthyDebate.org in advance of launching that crowdfunding campaign. To develop the best possible system and hit the ground running, it will be an open invitation to like, share, donate, get involved, (constructively) criticise, and connect. This is bigger than any one person. Let us ignite a movement that can change the world through healthy debate.

A picture says a thousand words.

To reveal how HealthyDebate will look and function, the following is a small selection from over 100 pre-alpha designs.

Homepage

Banner:

Rotating quotes that showcase the philosophical grounding of HealthyDebate: the search for truth through free, open, and civil disagreement.

Advanced Search: Debates

  • Instantly find a single debate among millions.
  • AI-assisted tags filter by who, what, where, and when.
  • Sort results by views or contributions.

Media Health Check

Advanced Search: Media Health Check

  • Instantly find a single article, speech, or video among millions.
  • AI-assisted tags filter by who, what, where, and when.
  • Sort results by views or date published.

  • Link to the Original Article.
  • View the profile and articles of the Media Organisation.
  • View the profile and articles of the individual author.
  • The article, or at least the claims within it, assessed within the HealthyDebate framework.

Debate Page

  • Possible To select the desired debate length, from ‘executive summary’ to ‘Deep Dive’.
  • Easily navigate between all the submissions FOR the motion and AGAINST the motion.
  • Initial content generated by each AI Large Language Model.
  • The Prompt available for full transparency.

Example Prompt For AI Generated Content

  • View archived past versions from this author to see accountable progression of arguments.
  • See the number of submissions there are for this side of the motion (42).
  • See the ranking of this submission among them (1st), according to which rating system (Gemini).
  • It is possible to switch the rating system to one of the User’s preferences.

A screenshot of a phone AI-generated content may be incorrect.

  • Possible To View All debate submissions for this side of the motion.
  • Or cycle though with the left and right arrows to view the next submission in the series as ranked.
  • Possible to view all the tags associated with this submission.

Each Claim Identified

  • With AI assistance, the number of claims made within each paragraph are identified in neutral language.
  • Colour coded, green for unchallenged. Yellow for debated. Red for accepted as false.

Possible to view:

  • The Supporting evidence for each claim.
  • The Challenges to each claim.
  • Who else has made that claim.

Challenges

  • link to the one definitive debate over that claim.

Sources

  • Divided between Primary and Secondary.
  • Advanced Filters, with AI assisted tags, enable the user to filter the list of sources.
  • Sources can be sorted by number of citations and by the date published.
  • The reliability and relevance of each source in supporting this claim can be debated in turn.

Who Has Said This

Note: This is a hypothetical example. I am unaware of Joe Biden’s stance on pineapple on pizza.

  • Trace the spread of ideas by seeing who else has made this claim.
  • Instantly find a single claim among millions.
  • AI-assisted tags filter by who, what, where, and when.
  • Sort results by when the claim was made, or by followers.

Author Profile

  • Showing the number of followers and the opportunity to follow, receiving notifications whenever this author makes another post.
  • See a quick biography and relevant credentials.
  • Their Linktree, their Substack, Patreon etc.
  • ·Their Social Media accounts.
  • Their published works (with links to purchase them).
  • Showing the number of posts, with advanced search filters to find one among hundreds.
  • As well as any gamified rewards or medals they receive through contributing to the HealthyDebate platform.