Introduction

OpenDebate is a platform where renowned speakers from diverse backgrounds—including politicians, journalists, and spokespersons—gather to discuss pressing societal and geopolitical motions. Inspired by the debates held at Oxford Union, Cambridge, and Imperial College, OpenDebate combines elements of competitive debating and Model United Nations (MUN) formats. The platform is structured to encourage logical reasoning over aggressive tactics, with an adjudicator facilitating smooth discussions.

Unlike traditional debates where speakers may adopt more aggressive stances to defend their positions, OpenDebate prioritizes thoughtful discourse based on sound reasoning. Participants are less inclined to employ rhetorical strategies such as doublespeak, auxiliary arguments, or exaggerated examples. Instead, the focus is on identifying logical fallacies, exploring opposing viewpoints, and fostering constructive dialogue.

The OpenDebate dataset is an extension of the LAION-Debate dataset, which introduced the world's first competitive debate corpus. This dataset includes detailed transcripts of OpenDebate discussions, providing a valuable resource for researchers studying argumentation, dialogue systems, and human-AI interactions. While the transcripts are openly available for research purposes, the corresponding audio files are exclusively posted on this platform.

Acknowledgement

We are deeply grateful to the speakers, adjudicators, and contributors who participated in OpenDebate discussions and shared their insights on key societal and geopolitical issues. Their willingness to engage in meaningful conversations has made this dataset possible.

We also extend our thanks to the academic and research communities for recognizing the importance of open datasets in advancing research on dialogue systems, natural language processing, and human-AI interactions.

Ethical Note

The OpenDebate dataset is released under EU research laws, permitting the sharing of materials for research purposes only. We expect users to adhere to these guidelines and ensure responsible and ethical use of the dataset in research and training corpora.

If accessing this dataset from outside the EU, users should ensure compliance with their local laws regarding dataset usage.

We strongly encourage researchers to use this dataset ethically and responsibly, with a focus on promoting positive societal impact. Misuse of this dataset to develop harmful, unethical, or biased systems is strictly discouraged. Instead, it is our hope that OpenDebate will serve as a valuable resource for advancing fair, transparent, and human-centered AI systems.