Adversarial collaboration is a protocol developed by Daniel Kahneman for two researchers advocating competing hypotheses to collaborate on a research project with the goal of resolving their differences, designed on the assumption that this will be more effective than each researcher conducting their own experiments individually and publishing replies to each others’ papers. Kahneman tested adversarial collaboration with Ralph Hertwig, aiming to resolve their dispute about whether the conjunction fallacy was primarily due to the representativeness heuristic (as advocated by Kahneman), or simply due to subjects interpreting the word “and” as a disjunction where the experimenters intended it to be used as a conjunction (as advocated by Hertwig). Kahneman and Hertwig collaborated on a series of experiments related to the issue, along with Barbara Mellers as an arbiter, and further refined the suggested adversarial collaboration protocol based on their experiences.

They suggest that the two disputing researchers should team up, along with a neutral arbiter to settle disputes that arise in the process, and agree on a procedure for an experiment that would distinguish between their hypotheses. The researchers would discuss ahead of time what results each of them expects, and what sorts of results would lead them to change their minds. Since the initial experiment may be inconclusive, each side would be allowed to propose follow-up studies afterwards, which they would continue to collaborate on. After the study is complete, all three researchers involved would collaborate on a paper describing the results, with the arbiter having responsibility for some sections, and each of the two disputing researchers given the chance to describe their own interpretation of the results.

Scott Alexander has arranged adversarial collaboration contests on his his blog, where people write an essay together.

2019:

• What are the benefits, harms, and ethics of infant circumcision? by Joel P and Missingno

• Is eating meat a net harm? by David G and Froolow

• Does calorie restriction slow aging? by Adrian L and Calvin R

• Should we colonize space to mitigate x-risk? by Nick D and Rob S

• Should gene editing technologies be used in humans by Nita J and Patrick N

• When during fetal development does abortion become morally wrong? by BlockOfNihilism and Icerun

• Will automation lead to economic crisis? by Doug S and Erusian

• How much significance should we ascribe to spiritual experiences? by Seth S and Jeremiah G

2018:

• Does the current US education system adequately serve advanced students? by Michael Pershan and TracingWoodgrains

• Is Islam compatible with liberal democracy? by John Buridan and Christian Flanery

• Should childhood vaccination be mandatory? by Mark Davis and Mark Webb

• Should children who identify as transgender start transitioning? by a_reader and flame7926

External links

http://​​web.cenet.org.cn/​​upfile/​​21290.pdf (the protocol is summarized in table 1, at the top of page 2)