Braver Angels Debate: Artificial Intelligence

On December 1^st 2023, Molloy University Honors Program and the Department of Philosophy hosted a groundbreaking Braver Angels debate that was the first of its kind. The event was organized with the College Debates and Discourse Alliance (CD&D), a partnership between Braver Angels, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, and the bipartisan student group BridgeUSA. The CD&D team has launched over 200 campus and classroom debates, engaging more than 8,500 students from 79 colleges and universities. But this December event at Molloy was the first time one of their debates included high school students.

Braver Angels debates, which are held in a parliamentary format, provide a respectful environment where students learn the art of civil discourse. Each speaker is given two to four minutes to present an argument and then answer questions from the audience. After the opening speeches conclude, all participants in the room are invited to make speeches and ask questions. The Braver Angels form of debate is highly collaborative and, though it is chaired by trained experts, the students have a significant part in the debate planning process, particularly in terms of choosing the debate topic. 

According to Doug Sprei, CD&D Program Director, “The debates are designed to be immersive and participatory for everyone in the room – whether they’re a college student, faculty member, the college president, or community member.  We call the space a brave space, or sacred or safe space, to signify that we are suspending hierarchy and inviting everyone present to express themselves freely in a collective search for truth—in which no one person’s opinion cancels out another’s.”

Though this December debate at Molloy was the first ever to include high school students, it was not the first Braver Angels debate hosted by the University. The first was back in November of 2022 after Dr. Howard Ponzer, Philosophy Department Chair and Honors Program Director, learned about the debates while working with the New American Baccalaureate Project. Dr. Ponzer felt that it would be good for the Molloy community to participate in a positive and constructive national program whose goal is to bring Americans together and to promote democracy at this uniquely tense, acrimonious, and difficult time in our history. Dr. Ponzer then quickly reached out to Doug Sprei to initiate the first debate, which was followed, soon after, by a second one.

Those two Braver Angels debates went so well that Dr. Ponzer began to think about ways to not only expand their audience, but to reach a younger one. He came up with the idea to include high school students because he felt it was a great way to support the Braver Angels’ mission to address the polarization of the US and revitalize our democracy. Sprei agreed and it didn’t take long for the initiative between CD&D, Molloy, and Richmond Hill High School to begin taking shape.    

Katie Ferrugia, a senior honors nursing student, has been involved in planning all three Braver Angels debates. In the previous ones, she has helped select the debate topics, field event questions, and facilitate the actual debate itself. This time around she was once again a part of the group of students organizing and promoting the debate. She was also one of the opening speakers.

Ferrugia explained, “We try to have at least two people representing each side of the debate topic, so when we open the conversation up to the room, everyone has some familiarity with what’s being discussed. For this most recent debate, the question on the table was: ‘Does Artificial Intelligence provide more harm than benefit to humanity?’ I represented the stance that artificial intelligence provided more benefit than harm to society. But as an opening speaker, regardless of whether I speak in the affirmative or the negative, I try to introduce the topic so that individuals coming in with no knowledge of the issue can develop their own stances. So, I find it impactful when the background info in my speech gets referenced later by another student— even if it’s minor, like using the same definition for key terms.” 

From an organizer’s perspective, Ferrugia was excited to have the high schoolers in attendance, stating that they brought a really fun energy to the room. “Every debate, we’ve always had audience members stomp whenever a speaker said something that resonated with them. There was stomping for almost every speaker this time and it was nice to hear! Sometimes, when we’re planning these events there’s a lot of anxiety about how they’re going to go. Are people going to like the topic? Are they going to participate? Are they going to fight? So, it was so encouraging to see that both the college students and high school students were engaged in the discussion. I think for high school students, it’s a very non-threatening way to be introduced to the college environment. Everyone’s on an even playing field. A high school student's stance isn’t any less respected than a college student’s stance or a professor’s stance. In fact, the high school students often brought unique angles to the AI debate.”

Like Ferrugia, Sprei was excited to include the high schoolers, but was also a little nervous about how they would respond within the atmosphere of the debate. Would they sit back passively like spectators, and leave the whole show to the older, more experienced college debaters—or would they participate? 

As it turned out, the 40 high schoolers and 50 Molloy students were all lively and engaged participants and the debate itself was one of the best yet. High schooler Jade Grant said, “The experience was meaningful because it gave me insight on the two different perspectives of AI so I didn't just see one side.” Fellow classmate Maryum Bibi stated, “The debate regarding AI has strengthened my opinion that AI is not at fault for human greed; however, hearing credible, realistic statistics and stories helped me understand the importance of accurate evidence that makes a position credible and influential.”  

Molloy President James Lentini, who attended the debate, thought that the co-mingling of college and high school students worked brilliantly. He also felt that it was wonderful to see the high school students engaging freely in dialogue and getting a feel for the college experience in a first-hand manner. Lentini concluded, “The debate’s impact on students fosters something that is critical in our current societal environment, which seems to be less and less tolerant of accommodating viewpoints that differ from our own. The tenets of empathy, civility, and respect are taught by articulating and listening to opposing arguments and either finding new common ground or respectfully disagreeing. The debate format beautifully demonstrates what we value in a Molloy education that allows a topic to be viewed from multiple angles, while respectfully weighing the merits of opposing viewpoints.”

Ferrugia described the debate experience further stating, “The Braver Angels debates grant students a safe, low-pressure environment in which they can discuss divisive topics respectfully. Some of our debates covered emotionally charged issues. For example, the first Braver Angels debate at Molloy was on physician-assisted suicide. Even though participants on both sides of the conversation gave incredibly passionate, personal speeches on the subject, at no point did anyone attack each other for their stances. This mellow atmosphere has been preserved at every debate since. People can comfortably disagree with each other. Often, a common ground can be found and, when there isn’t, attendees can walk away with a new understanding of opposing perspectives.” 

Sprei felt that the inclusion of high schoolers in the December event at Molloy

showed a very promising model for bringing high school and college students together in a debate and, as the CD&D program grows, his team is definitely interested in replicating that model in other parts of the country. Sprei stated, “Studies show that an overwhelming portion of students tend to self-censor and shut down when it comes to expressing their viewpoints on political and social issues, on campus and in class. It’s likely that the rancor spawned by mass media feeds into this. One thing that appears to unite a lot of college institutions these days is an interest in fostering academic freedom, viewpoint diversity, and a culture of respectful civil discourse on their campuses. We are gathering evidence that our program encourages those qualities on campus.

“I’ve lost count of the many times a student has come up to us after a debate and said something like, ‘I’ve never had a conversation like this in my life.’ The operating word I like to use is ‘transformative.’ Hopefully we are giving students a transformative experience of discourse that will prepare them to be engaged citizens and protectors of American democracy, long after they graduate.”

As to the future, Dr. Ponzer is eager to bring high school students from Queens and Long Island to Molloy for additional debates. The next Braver Angels debate is already in the planning stages for spring of 2024.