The Disagreement Lab: Practicing Disagreement Across Difference with Sway

​What if productive disagreement, not consensus, is the real goal?

​Join us for the second session of The Disagreement Lab, a series from the Council on Technology and Social Cohesion.

​We’ll be joined by Simon Cullen, Co-creator of Sway. Sway is an AI-facilitated chat platform that pairs college students who hold opposing views for structured, one-on-one conversations. An AI guide joins each chat to deepen reasoning, ease tensions and make sure both voices are heard. To date, Sway has hosted more than 14,000 conversations involving students at over 120 institutions.

​Simon will share what Sway has taught him about why we disagree and how we can do it better. Then you’ll try the platform yourself, and we’ll reflect together on dialogue, discomfort and difference: where AI helps, and where it might get in the way.

​About The Disagreement Lab
The Disagreement Lab is a series of live, hands-on sessions testing emerging AI tools designed to help people navigate difference more constructively. Instead of another presentation about what a tool is supposed to do, you’ll use it yourself, experience the interaction, and then reflect with others on what changed — and what didn’t.

​📅 Wednesday, October 28, 2026
🕖 7:00 AM PT · 10:00 AM ET · 3:00 PM CET
💻 Online · Open to all · Come ready to try the tool yourself: a laptop works best.