Text Apps for AI Debate [AI Debate #4]

This entry explains what kind of text app to use for AI debate. Since this is part of a series, please read the entries below in order before continuing.

How to debate against an AI [AI Debate #1]

In the entry above, to keep things simple, I said “for now, just use Word or Google Docs.” However, if you plan to repeat AI debate many times, you should consider other options from your second match onward. Let me explain why.

toc

• An Overview of Text Apps
  • Text App #1: Word Processors
    • The Problems with Word Processors
    • The Strengths of Word Processors
  • Text App #2: Text Editors
    • The Strengths of Text Editors
  • Text App #3: Markdown Editors
    • Markdown Syntax
    • The Strengths of Markdown Editors
    • Specific Apps
• Setting Up Your Markdown Editor
  • Recommended Settings
  • Save Reusable Templates

An Overview of Text Apps

To begin with, text apps (apps that center on handling text) can be roughly divided into three types:

1. Word processors
2. Text editors
3. Markdown editors

Their characteristics are summarized in the table below.

To state the conclusion first: if you are doing AI debate on your own, you should use a Markdown editor, not a word processor.

Below, I will walk through each kind of app and explain why.

Text App #1: Word Processors

First, there are word processors, represented by Word and Google Docs. These hardly need an introduction.

Since this is the first text app most people ever touch, I suspect many people equate “text app” with “word processor.” The goal of this entry is to change that view.

The Problems with Word Processors

Word processors are designed with one thing in view: producing a finished document, especially one printed on paper. Therefore, they come loaded with rich features for printing and formatting (typography), and the text data inside the app carries that formatting information with it.

As a result, word processors are a poor fit for AI debate. Look at the table below.

As you can see, word processors do the exact opposite of what AI debate needs from a text app. The fit could hardly be worse.

The Strengths of Word Processors

That said, word processors are not all bad. The following two are clear strengths:

1. Anyone with a computer almost certainly has one installed and knows how to use it (you can safely assume this)
2. They are well equipped for sharing and reviewing

The apps I will introduce below cannot match these strengths. If you need someone else — an English teacher, say — to check or grade your argument, you have little choice but to use a word processor.

If you are doing AI debate on your own, however, these strengths do not matter. Let us look for an app that fits the job better.

Text App #2: Text Editors

So what other text apps are there besides word processors? Text editors. As the name suggests, these are apps for “editing text,” and the following two come pre-installed with their respective operating systems:

• Windows: Notepad
• Mac: TextEdit

You have probably opened a .txt file with one of these at least once.

That said, these two are so bare-bones that nobody really uses them as a daily tool for any specific purpose. The text editors that see widespread use are the ones engineers use to write source code (programs). Examples include:

• VS Code
• Cursor
• Vim

Source code is unforgiving — a single wrong character can break the program — so “displaying exactly what you typed” is an absolute requirement. These apps handle that well.

They also have all sorts of “convenient features for writing source code,” but none of those are relevant to AI debate. I will skip them here.

The Strengths of Text Editors

Unlike word processors, text editors do not embed formatting information in their text data. As a result, you can copy-paste text into other apps without breaking the formatting. For AI debate, this is the biggest benefit.

Anyone who has ever copied text from a word processor into another app has experienced garbled characters or strange line breaks. Use a text editor and you are free of all that. This single point alone is reason enough to graduate from word processors.

That said, text editors built for engineers are fundamentally specialized for writing source code, and as a result they tend to be feature-heavy and visually cluttered for AI debate purposes. Let us move on to the next kind of app.

Text App #3: Markdown Editors

Finally, there are Markdown editors. These are apps that take text written in Markdown syntax and display it in a clean, readable form¹. Roughly speaking, you can think of one as a text editor that is friendly to non-engineers.

Markdown Syntax

Markdown syntax is a writing convention that uses simple symbols to express the structure of a document — headings, bullet lists, and emphasis.

It started as “a way for engineers to write things like documentation in natural language (rather than a programming language).” However, as its use has spread, it now appears in places like website manuscripts and custom instructions for AI (this entry itself is written in Markdown).

The following two are worth remembering, because you will use them when writing the custom instructions for AI introduced in the previous entry:

• Headings: ”#” + a space
  • The more # characters, the lower the heading level
• Bullets: ”-” + a space
  • You can create nested structures by indenting with the Tab key

If you want to know more, just ask an AI.

The Strengths of Markdown Editors

In fact, the ability to handle Markdown syntax has nothing to do with AI debate itself. You write your argument as ordinary prose, after all. The point is simply that the design of these apps fits AI debate perfectly. Look at the table below.

Every ”✗” the word processor got turns into a ”✓” here.

Word processors win on three things: printing, sharing, and grading. If you do not need any of those, a Markdown editor is a far better text app than a word processor. This is true even for non-engineers. Please give the apps below a try at least once — you only truly understand it by trying one.

Specific Apps

What kinds of Markdown editors are out there? The three I use are:

• Free
  • Obsidian: A tool often discussed in the context of “organic knowledge and note management,” but it works perfectly well as a free Markdown editor. Renaming files is easy too, which is a nice plus
• Paid
  • Typora: Simple and easy to use
  • iA Writer: Of the three, this is the one that lets you focus most purely on “just writing”

Since it is free, you might as well start with Obsidian. If you have complaints or want to try something else, give Typora or iA Writer a try (both have trial versions).

Setting Up Your Markdown Editor

Once you have installed a Markdown editor, do the following two things. They will make your AI debate more efficient:

1. Adjust the settings
2. Save reusable templates

I will explain each in turn.

Recommended Settings

First, adjust the settings to make the app easier to use. The following are for Obsidian:

• Set the font size to your preference: “Settings” → “Appearance” → “Font size”
• Register a keyboard shortcut for duplicating files: “Settings” → “Hotkeys” → “Make a copy of the current file” → ”+” → enter your preferred key combination

Change anything else you want to adjust as well.

Save Reusable Templates

Next, save reusable templates. In AI debate, use them as follows:

1. Once a question is set, duplicate the template file (using the shortcut you just registered)
2. Rename the file to “Short question – Side” (e.g., “Uniforms – Affirmative”)
3. Copy the contentions the AI proposed somewhere in the file, then fill in the template while looking at them

Below is the template, ready to copy and paste.

<Affirmative Constructive>
I will now begin the affirmative constructive.

[Your claim affirming the question, e.g., "Schools should require students to wear uniforms."] There are two main reasons.

First, "[write the first keyword here]."
[Explain the keyword. Ideally, give the reasoning for why it holds, then add a concrete example or personal experience.]

Second, "[write the second keyword here]."
[Explain the keyword. Ideally, give the reasoning for why it holds, then add a concrete example or personal experience.]

For these reasons, [your claim affirming the question].


<Affirmative Rebuttal>
I will now begin the affirmative rebuttal.

To begin with, the negative argued [the negative's premises].
However, this has the following problems.
[Point out the problems with the opposing premises (e.g., low feasibility, small impact, the existence of alternative solutions, etc.).]

On our side, [the keywords used in the affirmative constructive] are important.
This is because [reason: state why the affirmative is stronger by comparing it with the negative. Introducing new elements not in the affirmative constructive is forbidden].

Therefore, [your claim affirming the question].

<Negative Constructive>
I will now begin the negative constructive.

[Your claim negating the question, e.g., "Schools should not require students to wear uniforms."] There are two main reasons.

First, "[write the first keyword here]."
[Explain the keyword. Ideally, give the reasoning for why it holds, then add a concrete example or personal experience.]

Second, "[write the second keyword here]."
[Explain the keyword. Ideally, give the reasoning for why it holds, then add a concrete example or personal experience.]

For these reasons, [your claim negating the question].


<Negative Rebuttal>
I will now begin the negative rebuttal.

To begin with, the affirmative argued [the affirmative's premises].
However, this has the following problems.
[Point out the problems with the opposing premises (e.g., low feasibility, small impact, the existence of alternative solutions, etc.).]

On our side, [the keywords used in the negative constructive] are important.
This is because [reason: state why the negative is stronger by comparing it with the affirmative. Introducing new elements not in the negative constructive is forbidden].

Therefore, [your claim negating the question].

Once you get used to it, I recommend writing from scratch without leaning on the templates.

That covers text apps for AI debate. Next time, I will discuss how debate differs from real-world decision-making.

How Debate Differs from Real-World Decision-Making [AI Debate #5]

For other AI-related entries, see the following:

The Ultimate Guide to AI: How to Think and Communicate with AI