by Susanna, Italy
On Monday afternoon, a debate session was held which all students of the seminar joined, either as speakers or as audience members. The debate topic was: “AI – An opportunity for me personally and for society, or a threat to my rights and democracy?”
At first, there were six students on stage, four in favour of AI and two against. However, two other students joined the opposing side later. The first part of the debate consisted of 8 speeches, with each speaker, taking turns sharing their for and against voices.
The speakers in favour claimed that AI is a positive contribution to individuals and society as a whole; they believed that AI is a useful personal assistant, since it is always available and fast responding, and also a great chance of progress for humanity. They mentioned, for instance, its ability to recognise early-stage cancer sooner than a human doctor would.
On the other hand, the speakers against AI expressed concerns regarding its reliability, insufficient safety regulations , potential misuse, and the risk of AI encouraging illegal and suicidal behaviour. They discussed possible long-term effects it could have on people’s reasoning, memory and individual decisions.
In the first part of the debate, each speaker contributed by expressing clear points and, at times, involving the audience through questions, while the debate moderator guided the exchange.
After this the audience was given the chance to ask questions to any speaker and, in the end, the debate became an open discussion in which the speakers spoke directly to each other, making space for reflection and exchange of arguments.
Although a clear position on this matter wasn’t established, this activity gave all the students in the seminar an opportunity to share opinions and get to know each other better by discussing a very controversial topic that affects everyone’s life in some way.
