Over the past year, Sway has evolved from a Carnegie Mellon research project into a globally recognized platform for constructive student dialogue. Featured in congressional testimony, covered by major national and education media, and adopted at dozens of universities, Sway is helping educators address one of higher education's most pressing challenges: teaching students how to disagree wisely.
Promoting Civil Discourse on College and University Campuses • January 2026
Sway is a key partner in a $4 million grant awarded to the University of Notre Dame and North Carolina State University through the Department of Education's $60 million Civil Discourse priority. The four-year "Integrating Civil Discourse into the Curriculum" (ICDC) initiative—a partnership between Notre Dame, NC State, the School of Civic Life and Leadership at UNC-Chapel Hill, Disagree Wisely, Heterodox Academy, and ThinkerAnalytix—will train nearly 48,000 students on Sway and 375 faculty members across 125 campuses, including R1 universities, HBCUs, and community colleges. Our three-year study of over 95,000 students will be the most ambitious attempt ever to figure out how to teach civil discourse at scale.
Enhancing Post-Secondary Learning Track • June 2025
Sway was selected from over 1,000 entries as one of six winners in the world's largest ed tech competition, which "supports learning tools and platforms that promise to transform education and enhance student engagement worldwide."
Sway received a $341,647 grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations to scale across higher education. The grant supports providing Sway to 10,000+ students at dozens of institutions, app development and UI/UX enhancements, empirical research on depolarization, and disseminating best practices for classroom and co-curricular settings.
Enhancing Post-Secondary Learning Track • March 2025
Sway was selected as one of 15 finalists in the global Tools Competition, which "supports cutting edge solutions for the most pressing challenges facing learners worldwide" by working to "advance learning science research and build the Learning Engineering community."
Sway was cited as a positive example of an educational tool that can improve campus climate and teach students constructive disagreement. Kenneth Stern, director of Bard's Center for the Study of Hate, described Sway in his expert testimony:
Last year two academics from Carnegie Mellon launched [Sway]. It's like John Stuart Mill on AI. No raised voices, no eye rolls, just text back and forth. Sway's AI recognizes when students are engaging in ad hominem attacks, and gives them suggestions of other ways to phrase their points. It asks for examples. And it's fun.
Further, one of the challenges on campus is that too many students are afraid to say what they think. This long predated the attacks of October 7, and goes far beyond the issues of Israel and Palestine. But Sway actually creates an opportunity for these discussions without any of the fears of sacrificing a friendship or being ostracized by peers.
Simon received HxA's Open Inquiry Award for Teaching Excellence, recognizing him for "helping to develop and popularize pedagogical techniques that can promote open, rigorous, and challenging classroom inquiry."
Bowdoin economist Dan Stone—author of Undue Hate and a longtime champion of dialogue across political differences—brought Sway into his Economics of Information, Uncertainty, and Communication class. "When I explained the premise, their eyes widened," Stone said. "But it ended up going very well." The numbers back him up: 91% of students felt comfortable voicing their genuine views, over 80% said it was valuable to chat with someone who disagreed with them, and 100% reported not feeling offended. Stone then ran Sway in his Behavioral Economics course, where results were even stronger—90% rated their chat as "good" or "awesome." As one student put it: "The College should require every student to do something like this."
This in-depth news feature profiles Sway's growth from a research project to a tool now used at 78 colleges and a handful of high schools. The article describes how Sway works and features interviews with professors who have adopted it. Patrick Ryan, a philosophy professor at Fullerton College and self-described AI skeptic, credits Sway with transforming his virtual teaching, finding that students were "sensitive to their peers" and often changed their minds. Diana Mutz of the University of Pennsylvania describes Sway as a way of showing students "how to move forward when we don't have consensus." And UCLA sociologist Abigail Saguy reports that students came to class "more engaged and willing to debate constructively."
This in-depth case study explores how instructors across 80+ universities are using Sway to give thousands of students structured practice in constructive disagreement on contentious issues.
The Chronicle of Higher Education (Letter to the Editor) • January 2026
In this letter responding to Hollis Robbins's essay "The Noxiousness of Civic-Discourse Platforms," Simon and Nick correct several mischaracterizations about Sway. They address concerns about data privacy and emphasize that Sway extends far beyond political topics. As the authors conclude: "helping students articulate and defend — and sometimes change — their ideas to those who think differently is liberal education."
Barbara Oakley explores the neuroscience behind why people resist opposing viewpoints and how repeated messaging can create what Greg Lukianoff calls a "rhetorical fortress." Writing about solutions taught in her Coursera course "Speak Freely, Think Critically," Oakley highlights Sway as "an AI-facilitated platform that pairs [students] with differing viewpoints and guides them toward mutual understanding." She describes using Sway as "cognitive cross-training"—where "the goal isn't persuasion; it's perception, improving your own thinking while truly grasping an opposing stance."
Gerstell Academy in Maryland became one of the first high schools to implement Sway, using it in Applied Ethics classes alongside Monica Guzmán's book I Never Thought of It That Way. Leadership instructor Kelly Clabaugh explains that Sway helps students "break out of echo chambers by offering real-time, personalized feedback during discussions." Early results are promising: 72% of students strongly agreed that their partner had better reasons for their views than they expected. Students will continue using Sway as the class tackles challenging topics like abortion and capital punishment.
In this wide-ranging article on antisemitism and campus speech, Kenneth Stern—director of Bard's Center for the Study of Hate—highlights Sway as a promising tool for addressing hate on campus. Stern argues that higher education needs more initiatives focused on understanding "why we get into those righteous us-versus-them paradigms." He recommends Sway as holding particular promise for this purpose, emphasizing that "intellectual curiosity and emotional empathy are keys" to creating educational environments that help "tamp down an environment where hate (including antisemitism) might emerge."
EdScoop reports on Sway's growing adoption, noting that thousands of students from dozens of colleges and universities are now using the platform to facilitate constructive conversations on difficult topics like racism, immigration, and Israel. The article describes how Sway matches students with opposing views and acts as a mediator—ensuring both participants are heard, deescalating when things get tense, and helping with phrasing when someone says something unconstructive.
An in-depth profile of UCLA sociology professor Abigail Saguy, who became the first educator worldwide to implement Sway in her classroom during fall 2024. The article explores how Sway's AI-guided conversations help students engage with polarizing topics like gender dysphoria treatment, transgender athletes in sports, and whether Kamala Harris' 2024 election defeat was influenced by misogyny. "Students overwhelmingly reported very positive experiences using the app, leaving with a deeper appreciation of their chat partners' perspectives," Saguy reports, noting that this approach creates "brave spaces" where students develop higher tolerance for discomfort and strengthen their dialoguing skills.
Features interviews with Simon and two of Sway's key collaborators: Abigail Saguy, early Sway adopter and 2025 HxA Open Inquiry Award winner, who describes how Sway helped create classroom environments where students "feel comfortable to ask questions, to get things wrong, to make mistakes, to learn from each other"; and HxA Faculty Research Fellow, Michael Strambler, who's adapting and extending Sway to support psychosocial development for middle and high schoolers.
Free the Inquiry (Heterodox Academy Substack) • August 2025
Alice Dreger's feature on Sway describes it as a tool that "can not only help students engage in dialogue with each other about difficult subjects but that can in the process help them learn how to speak and listen in more respectful, productive ways." Dreger highlights how Sway's AI Guide facilitator scaffolds student reasoning while also detecting unconstructive messages and helping with charitable rephrasing. She notes that at a recent HxA workshop, "the results were overwhelmingly enthusiastic."
This local news feature profiles UCLA sociology professor Abigail Saguy, who became the first educator in the world to implement Sway with her students during fall 2024. One of her students notes how the platform "by design fosters that kind of environment of like it's OK to disagree," while another observes that "having the guide, the AI guide, really does help to minimize the error that you might make in misunderstanding what somebody is saying."
A guest post from Simon and Nick, framing Sway as courseware that addresses key instructional challenges in an era of self-censorship and polarization. They invite instructors and students to use Sway and describe how instructors can integrate discussion-based assignments into their courses.
This article describes how Sway evolved from Simon's earlier courseware — "Robocrates" — and emphasizes Sway's novel application of one-on-one tutoring principles in educational AI tools.
A feature on argument mapping and Simon's "Dangerous Ideas in Science and Society" course at Carnegie Mellon, which laid the pedagogical groundwork for Sway. The article explores how students learn to visualize arguments and engage across differences on hot-button issues. When asked why they enrolled, students' answers "astonished" Simon: they wanted to discuss ideas not allowed in high school and speak openly without being attacked. Survey results showed nearly all students became more open to talking with people they disagreed with and less supportive of censoring views they find problematic. One student wrote: "I am no longer afraid to venture into sensitive topics with the looming fear of being misinterpreted, and, god forbid, being demonized for holding a specific view."
An in-depth article about Simon's pedagogy and the teaching research driving Sway's development. It discusses how his popular course "Dangerous Ideas in Science and Society" led him and Nick to build Sway as a tool to scale up constructive debates in courses dealing with controversial academic content.
A wide-ranging panel discussion moderated by HxA's Nicole Barbaro, featuring Simon alongside David Rozado (Otago Polytechnic) and Hollis Robbins (University of Utah). The conversation explored AI's transformative potential in higher education—from one-on-one tutoring at scale to facilitating constructive disagreement through platforms like Sway. The panelists debated AI's creative capabilities, with Simon arguing that "we've already surpassed the best human mediators and facilitators" in discussion facilitation, while engaging with thoughtful pushback on privacy, the limits of logical argumentation, and what human expertise uniquely contributes to the university experience.
Heterodox Academy's "Heterodox Out Loud" Podcast • May 2025
A conversation between HxA President John Tomasi and Simon focusing on Sway's potential to promote open inquiry and free expression in higher education. Simon describes how he and Nick created Sway to make rigorous, open, and challenging discussions accessible to students everywhere, while Tomasi highlights the urgency of Sway amid concerns about self-censorship and polarization in universities.
Teaching in Higher Ed Podcast • Episode 560, March 2025
Host Bonni Stachowiak speaks with Simon and Nick about how college educators can use Sway to help students learn the "science and art of constructive disagreement." They discuss the motivation behind Sway, noting that many students never grapple with cogent arguments for unpopular positions due to intolerant campus speech cultures.
Emmy award-winning filmmakers Jesse Dylan and Priscilla Cohen sit down with Simon and Nick to explore how Sway transforms emotional conflict into meaningful connection. The conversation dives into how Sway works, the philosophy behind it, and what it really takes to have productive, respectful dialogue across deep divides on topics like race, abortion, Israel-Palestine, and January 6.
OR Initiative Launch, Chapman University • February 2026
Simon joined Adnan Jaber of Tech2Peace for a conversation on how AI can facilitate dialogue across deep divides. The two contrasted their approaches—Sway's focus on analytical reasoning and constructive disagreement versus voice-based methods that build empathy through hearing the human behind the argument—and discussed how text and face-to-face formats can complement each other. The session was part of a two-day gathering of over 200 educators, technologists, and students that also unveiled the report "Coming of Age in Polarized Times: Teaching Civil Discourse in a Digital Era."
AAC&U Annual Meeting, Washington, DC • January 2026
Simon presented Sway alongside John Churchill (Arthur Vining Davis Foundations), Laurie Pendleton (Association of College and University Educators), and Michelle Sobel (Unify America) at this session on evidence-based digital tools for teaching civil discourse. As campuses face increasingly polarized conditions, the panel showcased how tools like Sway make skill development in constructive dialogue "easier, durable, and often fun." This session was part of AAC&U's "Answering the Call for Constructive Engagement" annual meeting, in partnership with the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations.
UNC School of Civic Life and Leadership, Carolina Club • November 2025
A three-part evening event on how universities can help Americans revive open, honest, and vigorous dialogue across differences. Simon joined John Rose (Professor of the Practice at SCiLL) and Simon Greer (founder of Bridging the Gap) for "Dialogue on Dialogue"—a discussion on the role of academic and civic life. The event also featured the premiere of Tom Scott's documentary on a Spring 2025 class that studied the Israel-Palestine conflict and traveled to the region, followed by a conversation between New York Times columnist Bret Stephens and The Atlantic's Elizabeth Bruenig.
University of Missouri, Memorial Student Union • November 2025
In this talk for Missouri's Open Minds Initiative, Simon shared research on what happens when people who disagree are given the right tools for dialogue. Counterintuitively, students who reported the most anxiety about engaging with opposing views ended up having the most productive exchanges. The presentation explored cognitive biases that cause us to misread our opponents and practical techniques for overcoming them. Co-sponsored by the College of Arts & Science and the Truman School of Government and Public Affairs.
University of Wyoming, Wyoming Union • October 2025
Simon presented findings from thousands of student conversations on topics like Israel/Palestine, abortion, and trans rights—issues that often feel too dangerous to discuss on campus. Despite nearly all participants disagreeing with their partners, 90% reported respectful exchanges, and almost half changed their minds about something. The talk concluded with an interactive demonstration: audience members were paired with someone in the room who disagreed with them, experiencing firsthand what happens when people engage across divides with the right scaffolding. Sponsored by the Office of the President, School of Computing, Honors College, and College of Arts & Sciences.
Committee for Academic Freedom, HMS President, London • October 2025
Simon presented Sway on the panel "Disagreeing Well: Civility and Its Limits" at this landmark conference on defending academic freedom against censorship, polarization, and ideological conformity. The panel examined how virtues like civility and tolerance can be cultivated in practice, showcasing initiatives—including Sway—designed to restore the university's role as a space for free and open inquiry. Fellow panelists included Kathleen Stock, Eli M. Noam, Felice Basbøll, and Teresa Bejan, with Edward Skidelsky chairing.
Battle of Ideas Festival, Church House, London • October 2025
Simon participated in two panels at the Battle of Ideas exploring AI's implications for human creativity and agency. The sessions examined whether AI outputs can be considered authentically human, whether veracity and authenticity still matter in an age of algorithmic content, and whether our fears about AI reveal more about humanity than the technology itself. Drawing on his experience developing Sway, Simon contributed perspectives on how AI can be harnessed to enhance rather than replace distinctly human capacities. Fellow panelists included art critic JJ Charlesworth, musician Maeve Halligan, author Lauren Razavi, architect Patrik Schumacher, and former Green Party deputy leader Shahrar Ali.
How To Help Students Connect and Reason Across Their Deepest Divides
Eradicate Hate Global Summit, HEWG / Hate Studies • September 2025
Simon and Nick presented Sway at the Eradicate Hate Global Summit Higher Ed Working Group. In this session, they laid out the motivation and background for the platform and presented results from their empirical studies and nationwide classroom rollout, demonstrating how AI can be used to reduce hate and deepen student discussions of divisive topics.
UNC Chapel Hill, School of Civic Life and Leadership, Public Lecture • August, 2025
Simon delivered a public lecture exploring the difficulty and importance of engaging with opposing viewpoints in college and the tradeoffs between inclusivity and students' academic freedom. He showed how Sway can help students connect with others who disagree, have deeper conversations, and harness the power of constructive disagreement to enhance our collective intelligence.
Sway was featured in this multi-organization event co-sponsored by Harvard, MIT, and Axim Collaborative. Simon and Nick led a workshop titled "Promoting constructive disagreement and improving student reasoning at scale," presenting initial research results and engaging attendees in live demos.
Carleton College Office of the President • October 2024
Carleton inaugurated its lecture series with Simon's keynote "Beyond civility: Honing reason to create safe spaces for dangerous ideas." He showcased Sway as one of the "practical, easy-to-use tools" backed by empirical research that can help foster better discourse on campus.
Simon and Nick led an interactive members-only workshop showcasing Sway to HxA faculty, administrators, and student affairs professionals. This milestone event marked one year since Sway's launch at HxA, celebrating its adoption by over 2,000 students at more than 30 colleges and universities. Participants experienced the platform firsthand in small breakout sessions and learned about implementation strategies used by faculty across the country.
Simon presented Sway to civil discourse leaders at Northwestern University and the Kellogg School of Management's Center for Enlightened Disagreement. This innovative center, co-directed by Nour Kteily and Eli Finkel, focuses on research and training to help people "harness the power of disagreement while minimizing its perils." The workshop introduced participants to Sway through live demonstrations and detailed presentations on research findings, student rollout experiences, and the philosophical foundations underlying the platform's approach to constructive dialogue.
Simon presented Sway at the UNC School of Civic Life and Leadership's faculty seminars. This intensive program brought together 40 professors from colleges and universities nationwide to learn how to teach civil discourse in their own classrooms. As noted in SCiLL's coverage, "the program addresses the challenge of scale in civil discourse by training faculty nationwide to "cultivate skills to have those conversations rather than avoid them."
Sway was featured in a faculty development workshop at UNC Charlotte focused on constructive dialogue in the classroom. In this session, led by Simon and Nick, professors learned about the research behind Sway and how they can use it to offer scaffolded student conversations.
The BridgeUSA chapter and Heterodox community at GSU co-hosted Simon to present on Sway and how it is used to promote critical thinking in courses that cover controversial topics.
Bard's BCSH hosted another event in which Simon and Nick gave a public demonstration open to all OSUN faculty, students, and staff. Prompted by BCSH's interest in how AI can "improve teaching and learning," this event allowed educators to actually try Sway in live demos to explore how it could be used in their own classrooms.
An informative demonstration and panel discussion about disinformation and its influence in our democracy and elections organized by the IDeaS center. Attendees were able to engage in Q&A with presenters and had the opportunity to see demonstrations of software tools used for identifying and countering online harms including disinformation, including Sway.
Simon and Nick presented Sway during a HxLibraries workshop aimed at disseminating courseware for promoting viewpoint diversity, constructive disagreement, and open inquiry. Sway was showcased as a resource librarians could recommend to faculty to get students engaging with controversial course materials more productively.
An online faculty workshop in which Simon and Nick introduced their research on constructive disagreement and their Sway platform to educators in the Open Society University Network (OSUN). This session, hosted by Bard's Center for the Study of Hate (BCSH), aimed to show how AI tools like Sway might "deepen student discussions of divisive topics and improve teaching and learning."
Simon and Nick officially launched Sway at this HxA member workshop. The interactive session introduced faculty and campus leaders to the platform through hands-on small group discussions. Participants learned strategies for implementing Sway in classrooms and campus activities to cultivate open inquiry and viewpoint diversity.