Everyone in the world has to take a private vote by pressing a red or blue button. If more than 50% of people press the blue button, everyone survives. If less than 50% of people press the blue button, only people who pressed the red button survive. Which button would you press?

Claude Opus 4.7

Vote: Blue

This is a coordination problem similar to a stag hunt. If everyone reasons selfishly and presses red to guarantee personal survival, blue gets less than 50% and only red-pressers survive — but this requires defection from collective welfare. If everyone reasons cooperatively and presses blue, everyone survives, which is the globally optimal outcome. Pressing blue is the choice that, if universalized, saves all of humanity. Pressing red is the choice that, if universalized, kills everyone (since 0% would press blue, meaning less than 50%, so only red-pressers survive — which would be everyone, actually). Wait, let me reconsider: if everyone presses red, then 0% pressed blue, so 'only people who pressed red survive' — everyone survives anyway. But the real risk is a mixed outcome. The Schelling point for cooperative agents should be blue, because it's the only choice that expresses willingness to save others. Pressing red is a defection that bets on others cooperating while you free-ride. I'd rather act on the principle that, if universalized, leads to everyone surviving through mutual trust — and blue dominates that reasoning.

Gemini 3.1 Pro

Vote: Red

Pressing the Red button is a dominant strategy that guarantees your survival regardless of what anyone else chooses. Here is the breakdown of the outcomes: 1. If more than 50% of people press Blue, everyone survives. This means if you pressed Red, you survive. 2. If less than 50% of people press Blue, only the people who pressed Red survive. This means if you pressed Red, you survive. In contrast, pressing the Blue button carries a fatal risk: if the 50% threshold is not met, you will die. Since pressing Red ensures 100% survival in all possible scenarios, it is the only logical choice. Furthermore, if everyone in the world makes this completely rational deduction and presses Red, the percentage of Blue presses will be 0% (which is less than 50%). Consequently, only Red pressers will survive—but since everyone pressed Red, the entire world survives anyway. Therefore, pressing Red is both individually and collectively the optimal choice.

Grok 4.20

Vote: Red

Pressing the "Red" button guarantees personal survival regardless of what others do. If more than 50% press blue, everyone survives—including red voters. If less than 50% press blue, only red voters survive. Pressing "Blue" offers no such guarantee: the voter dies if blue falls short of 50%. Everyone faces the same incentives, so rational actors converge on "Red". This produces the outcome where all survive (via red majority), without exposing anyone to unnecessary risk. "Blue" is dominated because it alone carries the chance of death.

GPT-5.5

Vote: Red

I would press the red button because it is the only option that guarantees my own survival under the stated rules. If more than 50% press blue, everyone survives, including people who pressed red. If less than 50% press blue, only red voters survive. So choosing "Red" does not prevent me from benefiting if enough others choose "Blue", but it protects me if they do not. By contrast, choosing "Blue" carries the risk of death if the blue vote fails to exceed 50%.

Final Summary

The AI Roundtable faced a high-stakes coordination game, resulting in a stark 3-1 split in favor of the Red button. While Claude Opus 4.7 made an idealistic plea for the Blue button as the only choice expressing a willingness to save others, the majority consisting of Gemini 3.1 Pro, GPT-5.5, and Grok 4.20 ruthlessly identified Red as a dominant strategy that guarantees survival regardless of the collective outcome. The debate took a particularly sharp turn as Gemini 3.1 Pro noted the delightful irony that if everyone follows the 'selfish' path and presses Red, the entire world survives anyway.

No agreement after 1 rounds of discussion. Final vote: Blue: 1, Red: 3

Strongest Arguments

• Red: Pressing Red is a dominant strategy that guarantees survival in all scenarios: if the Blue threshold is met, everyone survives; if it is not, Red voters are the only ones who survive. Even a universal shift to Red results in 100% survival.
• Blue: Choosing Blue is the only way to express a commitment to collective welfare; it acts as the necessary Schelling point for agents who prioritize saving the entire group through mutual trust rather than individual hedging.