The EU AI Act is now law; the US has no binding legislation. In 2023, over 1,000 researchers signed an open letter calling for a pause on frontier AI training. Should we slow down for safety — or does a pause just hand the lead to bad actors? Two debaters. Assigned sides. You pick the winner.
Tuesday, September 8, 2026 · 7:00 PM EDT
What's at stake
A pause without global buy-in is unilateral disarmament. A race without safety guardrails is a bet on alignment being solved under competitive pressure. Both paths have real risks.
The Matchup
Debater: To be announced
Debater: To be announced
Join the debate
Record a 60-second video on either side, or make it in writing. The strongest cases get featured before the live debate.
“We don't allow pharmaceutical companies to sell untested drugs. We don't let airlines fly untested planes. Yet we release increasingly powerful AI systems with no safety testing framework, no regulatory approval, and no mechanism to recall them if they cause harm.”
“The race between AI labs to build the most powerful model incentivizes cutting corners on safety. A coordinated pause would break this destructive dynamic and give researchers time to develop alignment techniques before systems become too powerful to control.”
No con: no pause arguments yet
The Format
Standard SuperDebate: two people, cross-examination, moderated from start to finish.
4 min · PRO · opening case
4 min · CON questions PRO
4 min · CON · opening case
4 min · PRO questions CON
3 min · PRO
3 min · CON
3 min · PRO · final case
3 min · CON · final case
— · You pick the winner
Don't miss it
The debate happens live with real-time audience voting. Get one email right before we go live, with the watch link.
Premieres
Tuesday, September 8, 2026 · 7:00 PM EDT
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