October 2026 Newsletter: Last Call for November and a Record Case Prize
MPI Education · TKEthics · October 2026
Hi everyone,
October is a big month: registration for our November competitions closes in the next two weeks, the Marc Sanders Foundation Case Prize closed with a record number of entries, and we have new partners, new judges and new ways to support your team. Here's everything in one place.
Start here: free prep and coaching
Our free preparation resources include the competitor handbook, format videos, class plans and slides on the main ethical theories. The case sets for November are already out.
Your first hour of coaching is free. Every team entering one of our competitions can book a free one-hour Zoom session with one of our coaches.
After that, discounted or entirely free coaching is available for schools that need it (just fill in our fee support form), and regular paid coaching is available for any team that wants more. Book a free planning call to set it up.
Deadlines coming up
TKEthics Fall Invitational · Saturday 7 November, online, ages 13–18 Registration closes Wednesday 7 October. Teams of 3–5 discuss eight cases on technology and AI ethics across four heats, with detailed feedback from expert judges. Top teams qualify for the 2027 International Grand Final.
Middle School Pan-Atlantic Ethics Olympiad · Saturday 14 November, online, ages 11–14 Registration closes 14 October. School teams from across the Atlantic world, with a pathway to the International Middle School Final in February 2027.
Global AI Debates · entries due 14 November, live finals 5 December A $3,500 prize pool, funded by the Future of Life Institute, and judges from AI research and policy. This fall's topics:
Junior speech (ages 7–10, 5 minutes, solo): We support the development of self-driving cars.
Middle speech (ages 11–13, 7 minutes, solo): There are jobs that AI should not be allowed to do, even if it is as good as humans.
Senior speech (ages 14–18, 7 minutes, solo): AIs should be granted the rights of legal persons.
Essay & debate (any age, teams of 2–5): a 1,500-word essay for or against AIs should be granted the rights of legal persons, with the top eight teams debating live in the finals.
Arizona TKEthics Invitational · Saturday 10 October, Arizona College Prep, Chandler Our first in-person regional. We can still accept last-minute teams, so if you're in the Phoenix area and would like to take part (or just come and watch), get in touch.
Looking ahead to spring 2027: all of these are at early-bird prices now, so book early before spaces fill. TKEthics Spring Invitational on 6 March, the Senior European Ethics Olympiad on 18 March, and the Senior Pan American Ethics Olympiad on 3 April.
A record Case Prize
The Marc Sanders Foundation Case Prize closed on 1 October with more than 80 student-written ethics cases, on everything from artificial wombs to AI in the classroom. Thank you to every student who entered, and to the Marc Sanders Foundation for making it possible. Our judges are reading now, and winners will be announced on 7 October.
Competing in the Fall Invitational? The winning cases will become the final two cases of the TKEthics Fall Invitational case set, released by 7 October. If you've registered for the tournament, we'll email you again with them. Details of the next Case Prize round are coming soon.
Our partners
We're grateful to work alongside the Future of Life Institute, the Marc Sanders Foundation, Philosium, TKEthics, SuperDebate and our newest partner, KSMUN.
Partner spotlight: KSMUN 2026, Seoul. Korea Students Model United Nations is a student-led, English-language Model UN conference in Seoul on 21–22 November, with committees including a Historic Crisis, ECOSOC and UNHRC, plus a beginner-friendly committee for first-time delegates. International students and school delegations are welcome, and regular registration is open until 31 October. Follow them at @ksmun.official.
(If you'd like to be an official partner on our website, please reach out. We'd be happy to co-promote your event.)
Live debate nights: Chicago and Boston
We're teaming up with SuperDebate, which runs public debate nights where experts argue big questions in front of a live audience. Archie will be at the Chicago Debate Showcase on Wednesday 21 October at The Ferris (1 W Monroe St). If you're in Chicago, come along!
We're also co-hosting the Boston Debate Showcase in mid-November: an evening of live debates between local professors on AI, ethics and politics. Our first speaker, Richard Samela, is confirmed, and the venue will be announced soon.
Meet some of our judges
Students at our events get feedback from experts in the field. Three of this season's judges:
Brian Palmiter (Ethics Olympiad judge): Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and Assistant Director of Student Engagement at Harvard's Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics. He coaches the Harvard Ethics Bowl team.
Calvin Xu (Global AI Debates judge & TKEthics coach): Studied philosophy at Northwestern (magna cum laude) and Oxford, and is now a JD candidate at the University of Chicago Law School. He led the first Canadian team ever to compete at the International Ethics Olympiad, winning silver.
Priten Soundar-Shah (Global AI Debates judge): Visiting researcher in the Harvard Department of Philosophy and author of AI & The Future of Education and Ethical Ed Tech (Wiley).
Meet the rest of our coaches and judges on our team page. Would you like to judge at one of our events? Sign up here.
Helping new teams get started
This fall we're coaching new ethics teams in Georgia, Arizona, North Carolina and Connecticut, many of them supported by our scholarship fund. It's been wonderful to watch students who have never done ethics competitions dig into cases on AI, privacy and technology.
To keep this going, we need continued support. We're also putting together a package to help schools apply for grants in their own areas: district foundations, local community funds and state programmes. If you'd like help finding grants that might suit your school, get in touch and we'll look for options with you.
Support TKEthics
TKEthics is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, so gifts from US donors are tax-deductible. Every donation goes towards fee waivers, free coaching and prizes for students who couldn't otherwise take part. Since 2023, more than 25 teams have competed for free or at a discount. A gift of $225 covers a team's entry.
A special thank you to Project Navi and Baur Software for their recent support of the Global AI Debates, and to the Marc Sanders Foundation, the Future of Life Institute and the John Kleinig Scholarship Fund.
Sponsor an event or a prize. Businesses and organisations can sponsor a single event, a whole season or a named prize. Get in touch and we'll send you the options.
Thank you for being part of this community. We hope to see many of your students in November!
Best, Archie Stapleton Co-founder, MPI Education · Outreach Director, TKEthics
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