This AI program could beat you in an argument--but it doesn't know what it's saying

During a live debate in San Francisco this evening, an AI program made a surprisingly cogent argument that space exploration should be subsidized. When a human disagreed, the program offered a rebuttal. The debate, between an IBM computer program called Project Debater and several human participants, is the latest proof that artificially intelligent machines are making progress at skills that previously were reserved for people--in this case, arguing. During the event, the program and a human participant took turns making an argument on a specific topic, making a rebuttal, and adding a closing argument. In a second debate, the program argued for the increased use of telemedicine, while the human participant argued against it.