Moji Motions

For the purpose of this debate, a machine exists which would allow would-be parents to select personality and behavioural traits for their children. These traits are confirmed and are ingrained in their children from childhood well into adulthood, but are not necessarily unchangeable later in life.

"Lethal autonomous weapons (LAWs) are a type of autonomous military system that can independently search for and attack targets without direct human intervention based on programmed constraints and descriptions."

Examples of illiberal policies include but are not limited to: no-LGBT zones, preventing refugees from crossing your borders, and limiting the free speech of political oppositions.

The letters of last resort contain orders on what action to take if an enemy nuclear strike has both destroyed the government and has also killed or otherwise incapacitated both the prime minister and their designated "second person" of responsibility, typically a high-ranking member of the cabinet such as the deputy prime minister or the first secretary of state. If the orders are carried out, the action taken could be the last official act of the government. For the sake of this debate, we shall assume that the two options are to retaliate with nuclear weapons, or to not retaliate. We are explicitly not considering options that foist off decision-making to another actor (like the submarine commander, or another nation).

You have been an active debater for nearly two years. Debating has taken up a substantial amount of time in your life due to its commitments for training and tournaments, leading you to have had less time for other hobbies (such as non-competitive activities, non-debate relationships, and leisure time). As of now, you are a decent debater in your local circuit with some achievements, but you have not won or performed exceptionally well at a tournament.

ChatGPT is an AI chatbot with advanced natural language processing (NLP) that allows you to have human-like conversations to complete various tasks. The generative AI tool can answer questions and assist you with composing text, code, and much more. It's currently open to use for free.

For the purposes of the debate, 'radical environmentalism' refers to the use of aggression or disruption (e.g. vandalism, sabotage, civil disobedience) in the name of environmentalist campaigns. An example of 'radical environmentalism' was when members of the Just Stop Oil campaign vandalized Vincent van Gogh's "Sunflowers" in the National Gallery and subsequently glued their hands to the wall in 2022.

(1) Phan Thanh Giản was one of the foremost mandarins of the Nguyễn court. He played a key role in negotiating the Treaty of Saigon with the French in 1862. The treaty had 12 clauses, the most important being : Art. 2- Đại Nam (the country’s name then) allows French and Spanish missionaries to preach and the Vietnamese to practice the Christian faith freely. Art. 3- Đại Nam cedes to France the three eastern provinces of Biên Hòa, Gia Định and Định Tường and the island of Poulo Condor (Côn Đảo). Art. 8- Đại Nam agrees to pay France 4 million dollars worth of silver over 10 years as war reparation. Art. 11- France will return Vĩnh Long Province to Đại Nam once the three eastern provinces have been pacified. (2) Phan Thanh Giản was later recalled to Huế to get instructions to conduct an extraordinary embassy to Paris and negotiate the return of the eastern provinces. In Paris, after intense discussions, French Minister of the Navy and the Colonies Prosper de Chasseloup-Laubat opposed the return of Cochinchina to Vietnam, and with the threat of resignation of the whole cabinet, forced Napoleon III to order the cancellation of the proposed agreement in June 1864. Thus the Saigon Treaty of 1862 remained in full effect. Because of his main role in the negotiations, Phan Thanh Giản was blamed by the Vietnamese people and the Huế Court.