Who Is the Champion?

On Thursday, March 23, 2023, at 3:00 pm, the highly anticipated 2^nd Chinese Debate Competition of the International Division commenced in the Music Hall of the International Division.

After advancing through multiple rounds, the 12^th grade affirmative team, composed of Wang Zijian from Class 12A, Li Jiajia from 12A, Cai Xiangya from 12B, and Qianzelongxing from the International Class Grade 12, and the 11^th grade negative team, composed of Luan Yuyan from 11A, Dai Jiachen from 11A, Xu Junxi from 11B, and Li Pingan from the International Class Grade 11, were engaged in a heated debate on the topic of whether the benefits of using Chat GPT outweigh the drawbacks, or vice versa.

As the competition started, Wang Zhaoqing, the host, introduced the rules.

The competition began with the affirmative team’s first debater, Wang Zijian, who clarified the time frame and definition of the topic and used extensive data to argue that the use of Chat GPT can alleviate work-related stress. The negative team’s first debater, Xu Junxi, shifted the focus to the potential harm of this technology for different classes of people, and highlighted its drawbacks. The affirmative team’s second debater, Cai Xiangya, cleverly cited an example from the University of London to emphasize the benefits of using Chat GPT under legal regulations, including improved work efficiency and time-saving medical diagnoses that can save lives. The negative team’s second debater, Dai Jiachen, took a different approach by analyzing historical actions of capitalists and argued that this technology is likely to be exploited by company executives, leading to the exploitation of the interests of lower classes in society. The affirmative team’s third debater, Qianzelongxing also used historical examples to argue that tools that are “lower in cost and higher in efficiency” have always been accepted and have benefited society in the end. The negative team’s third debater, Luan Yuyan, responded to their opponents’ arguments and supplemented their points by asserting that even if emerging technologies bring progress to society in the long run, they will still cause turmoil and hardships for some people in the short term.

In the free debate section, the 12^th grade team took the initiative and questioned whether the examples used by the negative team were applicable to today’s society. The 11^th grade team, in turn, vigorously defended their examples and provided a clear rationale for their relevance. The negative team’s fourth debater, Li Pingan, delivered a concise summary that emphasized the uncontrollable nature of Chat GPT and its potential to be ineffective and harmful, which refuted the affirmative team’s claims. The affirmative team’s fourth debater, Li Jiajia, also provided a comprehensive summary of their team’s arguments and rebuked any potential extreme positions taken by the negative team.

In conclusion, a teacher Chen Ruimei offered her appraisal of the competition. She began by sharing her understanding of the new phenomenon, Chat GPT, unequivocally endorsing the topicality of the debate and commending the debaters’ superb performance. She then went on to evaluate each debater’s strengths and weaknesses, lauding their logical, advantageous, and concise arguments. Throughout the evaluation process, she identified several perspectives that the debaters had not taken into account, inspiring the students present to engage in more thorough and nuanced reflection.

After the exciting voting and counting session, the 12^th grade affirmative team won. Congratulations to them! All the debaters have put in a tremendous amount of effort and deserve to be acknowledged and praised for their performance.

Annotation:

The judges: Wang Wei, Head of the International Division, Fu Zhenliang, Deputy Head of the International Division, and Chen Ruimei, Wu Dan, Zhang Manrui and Zhang Zixuan of the Chinese Language Team