sixth-form debating competition
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View a PDF version of this topic guide here. INTRODUCTION In March 2016, Google’s AlphaGo computer program beat master player Lee Se-dol, at the notoriously difficult and abstract ancient Chinese board game GO [Ref: Guardian], in what was seen as another example of the march of artificial intelligence. It follows in the footsteps of IBM’s …
Continue reading ““Humanity should fear advances in artificial intelligence””
View a PDF version of this topic guide here. INTRODUCTION On 9 April 2015, the University of Cape Town removed a statue commemorating the 19th century British imperialist Cecil Rhodes [Ref: BBC News]. This was the culmination of a month long campaign by both students and academics as part of the ‘Rhodes Must Fall’ movement, which …
Continue reading ““Monuments to historical figures should remain””
View a PDF version of this topic guide here. INTRODUCTION Tourism has traditionally been seen as a way of showing appreciation for different places, peoples and cultures, but mounting fears about the impact of mass tourism have led many to question whether tourists are actually ruining the places they love. A debate about the effects …
View a PDF version of this topic guide here. INTRODUCTION In November 2018, a report commissioned by French President Emmanuel Macron caused a debate when it concluded that French museums should return to Africa thousands of artefacts taken during colonialism [Ref: Financial Times] . The report’s authors were frank: continuing to hold such treasures amounts to …
Continue reading ““Western museums should repatriate cultural artefacts””
View a PDF version of this topic guide here. INTRODUCTION Across Europe, 2016 saw the lowest number of measles cases on record. Two years later, the number of cases, and deaths, were at their highest level for at least 15 years [REF: BMJ]. Declining vaccination rates are widely thought to be to blame. In response, …
Continue reading ““Childhood vaccinations should be compulsory””
View a PDF version of this topic guide here. INTRODUCTION For several years, there has been an ongoing debate about the merits of the green belt [Ref: Wikipedia] in the UK, with supporters and critics clashing over its relevance and necessity in the 21st century. The issue has come to a head more recently however, …
View a PDF version of this topic guide here. INTRODUCTION Populism is the political buzzword of the day – with commentators, political theorists and politicians all debating its meaning and the merits of its apparent rise in recent years. From the election of Donald Trump in America [Ref: Guardian], and the rise of Marine Le Pen …
View a PDF version of this topic guide here. INTRODUCTION In November, Donald Trump stunned the world when he defeated Democratic rival Hilary Clinton to win the 45th presidency of the USA. In the aftermath of the result, attempting to explain what seemed like such an upset, BuzzFeed News released a report claiming that fake …
Continue reading ““Social media sites should filter out fake news””
View a PDF version of this topic guide here. INTRODUCTION In 2015 the UK’s first self-driving pod – the LUTZ Pathfinder – was made public by the government-funded Transport Systems Catapult [Ref: Transport Systems Catapult]. This follows in the wake of the launch in 2010 of technology giant Google’s Self-Driving Car project to “make driving safer, …
Continue reading ““Autonomous vehicles will make driving safer””