science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

, adversarial collaboration is a term used when two or more scientists with opposing views work together. This can take the form of a

scientific experiment An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when a ...

conducted by two groups of experimenters with competing hypotheses, with the aim of constructing and implementing an

experimental design The design of experiments (DOE, DOX, or experimental design) is the design of any task that aims to describe and explain the variation of information under conditions that are hypothesized to reflect the variation. The term is generally associ ...

in a way that satisfies both groups that there are no obvious biases or weaknesses in the experimental design. Adversarial collaboration can involve a neutral moderator and lead to a co-designed experiment and joint publishing of findings in order to resolve differences. Adversarial collaboration has been recommended by

Daniel Kahneman Daniel Kahneman (; he, דניאל כהנמן; born March 5, 1934) is an Israeli-American psychologist and economist notable for his work on the psychology of judgment and decision-making, as well as behavioral economics, for which he was award ...

and others as a way of reducing the distorting impact of cognitive-motivational biases on human reasoning and resolving contentious issues in

fringe science Fringe science refers to ideas whose attributes include being highly speculative or relying on premises already refuted. Fringe science theories are often advanced by persons who have no traditional academic science background, or by researchers ...

. It has also been recommended as a potential solution for improving academic commentaries.

Philip Tetlock Philip E. Tetlock (born 1954) is a Canadian-American political science writer, and is currently the Annenberg University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where he is cross-appointed at the Wharton School and the School of Arts and Sc ...

and Gregory Mitchell have discussed it in various articles. They argue:

References

External links

The Adversarial Collaboration Project
at UPenn studies and supports researchers with differing views
AI Magazine'sAI Bookies
column supports an adversarial approach to AI Research
Lesswrong
Has examples of adversarial collaboration Design of experiments Skepticism {{science-stub