Describe the strongest case as a structured argument: claim, evidence, counter, rebuttal.

Challenge

1. Challenge 01

   Use Claude to help assemble a steelman of a position you disagree with, structured as claim → evidence → likely counter → rebuttal. You direct it; the AI supplies candidate evidence you will then check.

2. Challenge 02

   Take a policy you think is wrong (e.g., a school rule or regulation you'd change). Ask an AI to state its strongest justification in four parts: (1) the rule's stated purpose, (2) evidence it works, (3) the strongest objection to the rule, (4) a defense of the rule against that objection. Write down the four parts exactly as the AI gives them, then mark which ones you'd need to fact-check.

3. Challenge 03

   Pick a technology critique you've heard (e.g., 'social media is addictive' or 'AI will replace all jobs'). Ask an AI to build the opposite case: what would someone say who disagrees? Require it to give at least two pieces of evidence for the opposing view. After, label each piece as 'needs a source', 'common knowledge', or 'already checked'.

4. Challenge 04

   Select a historical event from this course. Ask an AI to explain a decision made by a historical figure as if you were defending that figure in a debate: (1) what did they know at the time? (2) what outcomes were they trying to achieve? (3) what would a critic say they got wrong? (4) how would the figure respond to that criticism? Write the four-part answer.

5. Challenge 05

   Take a piece of media criticism (a review of a film, book, or game that judges it harshly). Ask an AI to rewrite it as a defense of the work: claim it's better than the critic said, give evidence, acknowledge the critic's strongest point, and explain why the defense wins anyway. Compare the two arguments—which one had to work harder to be credible?

6. Challenge 06

   Find a statement of values you partly disagree with (e.g., 'privacy is more important than security' or 'competition is better than cooperation'). Ask an AI to make the strongest case for the opposite value. Then you list: (1) the claim, (2) two pieces of evidence, (3) your best objection to that evidence, (4) how the AI would defend itself against your objection.

7. Challenge 07

   Describe a choice you made recently that you now think was wrong (a small one is fine—a purchase, a word choice, a scheduling decision). Ask an AI to argue that your choice was actually reasonable given what you knew then. Structure its answer as: the decision made sense because [reason 1], [reason 2], and [reason 3]. For each reason, write whether you now think it was true or false.

8. Challenge 08

   Pick a scientific finding you find surprising or counterintuitive (from this course or elsewhere). Ask an AI to explain both the finding and the skeptic's objection in parallel: (1) the finding's claim and evidence, (2) why someone might doubt it, (3) what would settle the disagreement. Write all three, then identify which part you'd research first if you had an hour.