Opening event
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AI could automate 300 million jobs globally, per Goldman Sachs. Past waves created more jobs than they destroyed — but this wave may be different. Will AI create more than it destroys — or hollow out the middle class? Two debaters. Assigned sides. Cross-examination. You pick the winner.
Tuesday, September 8, 2026 · 7:00 PM EDT
What's at stake
If the optimists are right, AI raises living standards broadly. If the pessimists are right, we're automating into a new Gilded Age with no plan for the people left behind.
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.
“McKinsey estimates 400-800 million workers globally could be displaced by automation by 2030. Unlike previous industrial revolutions, AI simultaneously threatens white-collar knowledge work and manual labor, leaving far fewer sectors for displaced workers to transition into.”
“The speed of AI adoption outpaces human retraining capacity. It takes years to retrain a truck driver as a software engineer, but self-driving technology can be deployed across an entire fleet overnight. The mismatch between displacement speed and adaptation speed will create structural unemployment.”
“Every major technology wave — the printing press, electricity, the internet — triggered fears of mass unemployment that never materialized. The World Economic Forum projects AI will create 97 million new roles by 2025 while displacing 85 million, a net gain of 12 million jobs.”
“AI augments human capability rather than replacing it. Radiologists using AI catch 11% more cancers than AI alone. Lawyers using AI review contracts 20% faster with fewer errors. The highest-value work will always require human judgment, creativity, and empathy.”
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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