Date
Publisher
arXiv
Acquiring diverse perspectives and forming informed opinions on societal issues are essential for critical thinking and informed decision-making. Although observing debates between opposing viewpoints can promote perspective acquisition, conventional debates require substantial time and human resources, limiting their accessibility. This study investigates whether brief AI-generated rap battle-style debates can support perspective acquisition and opinion formation on societal issues. Rap battles are debate-style performances in which opposing viewpoints are expressed through rhymed verses, making them engaging while preserving the structure of argumentative dialogue. To conduct this investigation, we automatically generated rap battle-style debates using GPT-5.4-mini and presented them to participants with synthesized audio through a web-based viewing interface. We evaluated the educational effectiveness of this approach through a user study involving six participants who viewed 40 debates generated from topics on societal issues used in the All Japan Junior and Senior High School Debate Championships. The results showed that watching approximately 1.5 minute rap battle-style debates nearly doubled the number of opinions and discussion points identified by participants. Furthermore, participants reconsidered or changed their stances in 52.5% of the evaluated cases. These findings demonstrate that even brief AI-generated rap battle-style debates can effectively support perspective acquisition and opinion formation on societal issues.
Study at a glance
- Question: Can watching brief AI-generated rap battle debates help people learn diverse perspectives and form opinions on societal issues?
- Setting and data: Six Japanese university students evaluating 40 topics from the All Japan Junior and Senior High School Debate Championships.
- Method: System development and user study using pre- and post-viewing surveys.
Why it matters
Personalized recommendation algorithms create filter bubbles that reduce exposure to diverse opinions. While observing debates helps people understand opposing viewpoints, traditional debates take considerable time and human resources.
Key findings
- Watching 1.5-minute rap battle debates nearly doubled the number of opinions and discussion points identified by participants, rising from 254 to 501 points.
- Participants changed or reconsidered their stances in 52.5% of the evaluated topic cases, generally shifting toward more moderate positions rather than complete reversals.
- All 21 instances where participants initially felt undecided shifted to another stance after watching, with 90.5% moving to an agreeing or disagreeing stance.
Summary drafted with AI from the full paper and may contain errors. See the full paper for details.
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