Steel Man Analysis
Reconstructs the strongest, most charitable version of each argument before putting it through rigorous testing.
How it works
Steel Man mode (default analysis model: Groq) refuses to argue against straw-men. Before evaluating any claim in the models’ responses, it first rebuilds the most defensible version of that claim — then tests the reinforced version. It:
- Extracts the core argument from each model, even if poorly stated
- Strengthens it with the best supporting evidence and reasoning available
- Applies rigorous scrutiny to the improved version
- Reports which arguments survive the steel-manning, and which collapse
- Highlights genuine disagreements vs. surface-level ones that dissolve on closer inspection
When to use it
- Evaluating contested or polarized topics (policy, ethics, science debates)
- Preparing to negotiate or persuade someone holding the opposite view
- Graduate-level research where weak readings of sources will not pass muster
- Product or strategy decisions where the losing option deserves a fair hearing
- Building genuine understanding across ideological divides
This mode organizes model output for review. Its conclusions still require appropriate source checking and human judgment.
Sources
- NIST AI Risk Management Framework — National Institute of Standards and Technology. Accessed 2026-07-20.