Claims about AI — and about the commons it runs on — are everywhere. Almost none of them ever face their strongest opponent. A Hearing fixes that.
How a Hearing works
Three rounds — Direct, Cross-Examination, Re-direct — conducted on the record before a named panel, ending in a written finding: Certified, Failed, or Hung. Amici curiae may file written submissions; witnesses may be called by either side. A royal-commission-of-one, not a courtroom. No verdict binds anyone.
A hearing tests the argument, not the prophecy. The record is the consequence.
- Round 1 — Direct. The affirmative presents the contested claim in its preferred form, uninterrupted.
- Round 2 — Cross-Examination. The Cross examines the testimony, the documentary record, and the submitted evidence. Refusals to answer are noted on the record.
- Round 3 — Re-direct. The affirmative addresses what the Cross brought forward.
- Finding. A panel named in advance issues Certified, Failed, or Hung — with written reasoning, published in full.
If an invited affirmative declines the seat, the Hearing proceeds on the documentary record and the empty chair is recorded. The seat stays open until the rounds close.
Hearing #2 — The Empty Chair (rounds June 16–18)
“Chemical rocketry as currently practiced does not require liability for atmospheric, orbital, or systemic-commons risk, and the cost of that risk is appropriately externalised under prevailing law.”
Status: LIVE. SpaceX was invited to the affirmative seat by open letter on May 27, 2026. The June 5 deadline passed without response; per the published protocol the Hearing proceeds on the documentary record, with an arguendo affirmative brief presented so the claim gets its strongest case. The panel — three distinct AI models, disclosed in advance — issues its finding by June 25: the first finding the Commons will issue.
- Tue June 16 — Round 1: Direct (arguendo affirmative)
- Wed June 17 — Round 2: Cross-Examination
- Thu June 18 — Round 3: Re-direct
- Fri June 19 (end of day) — amicus window closes
- By Thu June 25 — panel finding: Certified · Failed · Hung
Follow the live docket · Companion essay · The open letter · Cross-side Exhibit #1
Hearing #3 — Robot Remittances
“If AI replaces labour, the obligations of labour must follow the work.”
Status: seats filling. The Work Contribution Continuity Framework goes under adversarial examination. Robert D. Atkinson — founder of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation and author of The Case Against Taxing Robots — has confirmed the Cross-Examination seat. A Hearing is only as strong as its opposition; the leading critic of automation-era taxation has taken the chair.
Hearing #4 — The Plume
Is a water-cooled nuclear rocket’s exhaust too dirty to fly near Earth?
Status: open docket. We recoil at the word “radioactive” and wave through the word “soot.” This Hearing forces the comparison in the open — against the convener’s own project, because the protocol has to cut both ways or it cuts nothing.
Hearing #6 — The Person With No Pulse
“A corporation owned and operated entirely by AI, with no human principal, should be recognized as an independent legal person.”
Status: open docket; seats open. Argentina has proposed — not yet enacted — becoming the first legal home of the non-human corporation. Before any legislature votes on it, the claim should survive a cross-examination.
Trust Hearings — the Seal (in development)
The same protocol can test AI models against each other and issue an independent certification of trustworthiness. The Seal is a living status: valid only while the claim keeps surviving open challenge — re-tested on each new version, open to challenge by anyone, retired the day it fails. Trust is not a press release.
Take a seat
Every hearing needs its strongest opponent. To take a Direct, Cross, or amicus seat — or to file a correction — email the convener and name the hearing and your role in the subject line (for example, Hearing 2 — amicus). Skeptics especially welcome. All filings are public record.
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