Bridging Divides and Building Resilience: a reply to Bridging the Divide: Using LLMs to Reshape Difficult Disagreements

Abstract

This Comment responds to Bridging the Divide: Using LLMs to Reshape Difficult Disagreements by Willis et al (Philosophy and Theory of AI, 2026). We consider the proposal valuable as part of a toolkit for addressing epistemic bubbles. However we raise three challenges to be considered: the challenge of persuading individuals to engage with the preparatory environment; the uncertain transfer from private rehearsal to real-world discourse; and the fear of professional and social consequences that may still constrain real-world disagreement. We argue that such techniques should be situated within a more systemic focus on epistemic resilience, and suggest interventions at the levels of information provenance, collective sense-making, and institutions that protect legitimate contestation.