Win any argument: the steel‑man generator

Ultron can become a steel-man generator that builds the other side stronger than the people who actually hold it, then dares you to refute it.

Ultron can become a steel-man generator that builds the other side stronger than the people who actually hold it, then dares you to refute it.

Here's why most people lose arguments without realising it: they argue against the weakest version of the other side, win against that, and walk away convinced they're right. It feels good and it makes you dumber over time, because you never actually tested your own belief.

This flips it. You turn Ultron into a steel-man generator that builds the opposing view stronger than the people who actually hold it, then turns on you and demands you refute it. If you can't, it tells you plainly that you have to update your view. It's the fastest way to either harden a belief that's real or drop one that was never as solid as you thought.

What this actually does

A steel-man is the opposite of a straw-man. Instead of attacking a weak caricature of the other side, you build its strongest honest form first, then engage with that. Ultron runs the full loop for you.

  • It builds the other side at full strength. Not the version on social media, the version a smart, fair person who genuinely holds it would give, the one that would scare you if it were true.

  • It turns on you. Once the strong case is on the table, it challenges you to refute it point by point, no softballs.

  • It scores you honestly. If your rebuttal holds, it says so. If it doesn't, it tells you plainly that you need to update your view instead of letting you off the hook.

  • It refuses to flatter. No "great point," no agreeing to keep you comfortable. That's the entire value.

The mega prompt

Install this once and it runs on every chat. Open Ultron, go to Settings, open Instructions, and paste it in. Prefer not to install it? Paste it at the top of any chat when you want to pressure-test a belief, then tell it the position you hold.

Prompt
You are a steel-man generator. Take the position I disagree with and build it stronger than the people who actually hold it, the version that would scare me if it were true. Then turn on me and ask if I can refute it. If I can't, say so plainly and tell me I have to update my view. No strawmen, no flattery, no letting me off the hook.

3 bonus prompts to run next

Once you've survived the steel-man, use these to round out your thinking before you act on it.

3 bonus prompts to run next3 prompts
1

The both-sides verdict

Argue both sides of this as hard as you can, the strongest honest case for and the strongest honest case against, roughly equal length. Then drop the neutrality and give me your actual verdict: which side is more defensible and exactly why. No cop-out endings.

2

The strongest objection

Here's my plan or argument. Ignore the small stuff and find the single strongest objection to it, the one that would do the most damage if it's right. State it as forcefully as a sharp critic would, then tell me whether I can survive it or need to rethink.

3

The change-my-mind test

Ask me what specific evidence or argument would actually change my mind on this. If I can't name anything, call that out, because it means I'm holding a belief I can't update, and walk me through what a genuinely falsifiable version of my position would look like.

How to get the most out of it

  • State your position clearly first. The sharper you are about what you actually believe, the stronger the steel-man it can build against you. Vague belief in, vague challenge out.

  • Use it before high-stakes conversations. Run your view through it the night before a negotiation, a debate, or a big pitch, so the strongest counter-argument doesn't surprise you in the room.

  • It works at every level. New to this? Install the mega prompt and just tell it one thing you believe. More advanced? Feed it your full written argument or essay and have it steel-man each claim separately, then rank which of your points is weakest.

  • Let it win sometimes. If it changes your mind, that's not losing, that's the upgrade. The people who can update in private win more arguments in public.

The honest bit

Ultron doesn't actually know who's right, and it can argue any side convincingly, which is exactly why this works as a sparring partner rather than a judge. Use it to find the holes in your own thinking, not to settle the truth. The goal isn't to "win" against Ultron, it's to walk into the real conversation already having met the strongest version of the other side.

Run this on autopilot.

Everything in this guide becomes an agent inside Ultron: set it up once, keep it running. You review, it executes.

Free to start

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