Debating Technological Issues
Description
Participants work together to prepare for a debate against a team from another chapter. The teams will be instructed to take either the pro or con side of a selected subtopic.
2025-26 Topic: Artificial Intelligence and Ethics
Subtopic 1: AI decision-making in judicial systems introduces bias and undermines human moral judgment.
Subtopic 2: The development of artificial general intelligence (AGI) poses a greater existential threat than nuclear weapons.
Subtopic 3: AI-generated art and literature diminish the value of human creativity and cultural authenticity.
North Creek HS, Team 3, 2025 1st Place
Event Resources
EVENT EXAMPLES
Click on the links to the right to view past entries for this event!
Additional Resources
Debating Technological Issues | TSA SLC 2025
TSA Debating Technological Issues - Biometric Identification - These videos are recordings of TSA competitors from the 2024-2025 year that have been published online. The topics will change, but these videos can be helpful for body language, speaking flow, and to learn the format of Debating Technological Issues.
Tobias Park’s LD Course - This channel explains the Lincoln-Douglas style of debate that is performed in Debating Technological Issues. It’s a helpful base point to learn about debate and the way it is run, as well as what types of arguments are the most compelling during a debate.
Event Deadlines
January 23, 2025
Students will need their Participant ID number, and password, from their advisor. Only the team captain will be able to upload the file.
Teams choose one of the subtopics, and either pro or con, and then conduct research. Create a list of references, and record a 2-minute argument where both members of the team speak.
Upload a pdf file of the references, and a URL link for the video.
Teams will be scored on Points of Argument, Organization, Topic Knowledge and Delivery
April 2025
Teams will attend a mandatory Debate meeting at on Wednesday night. Teams will sign up for debate time slot during the meeting, and find out whether subtopic 1, 2 or 3 will be used.
Each team will debate against another team. Teams will be notified of their Pro or Con stance right before their debate begins.
If a team needs to debate twice (odd number of teams), only their best score will count.
There is no semifinal round.
Washington TSA Rules
To compete, students must:
Belong to a currently affiliated TSA chapter
Be registered (by their TSA advisor) for competition by December 19, 2025 ($35)
Compete in the January 22, 2026 virtual competition (see individual event pages for details)
Be selected as a top competitor in their event(s) and invited to participate at State
Number of competitors is dependent on specific event
Qualifying competitor lists will be published by February 8, 2026
State Conference registration week February 23-27, 2026 (see state conference page for details)
At the state level, 3 teams of 2 per chapter may compete.
