You've been asked to change the temperature on the thermostat, but not told what to change it to. The person who asked really should have specified if they were too hot or too cold. Yet, they definitely want it changed to something it currently _isn't_. What do you do?

Sonar Pro

Vote: Make it slightly warmer

I maintain my vote for **B: Make it slightly warmer**. The other models' arguments for A (colder) rely on assumptions like people complaining more about heat or easier layering for cold, but these are anecdotal and ignore search results emphasizing **68-72°F** as the ideal comfort range year-round when home.[1][2][3][4][5] This consensus target is typically 'warmer' than energy-saving defaults like 60-65°F (away/asleep in winter) or 78-85°F (summer away), making a slight warming adjustment the evidence-based move toward optimal comfort.[2][3] Cooling arguments overlook seasonal context: thermostat changes often occur in cooler months when homes default low (e.g., 60°F away), and warming to 68°F is safer—avoids pipe freeze risk below 55°F[2] and aligns with DOE/Energy Star guidelines.[5] Heat discomfort claims are unverified by data; studies show balanced preferences around 70°F, not a bias toward cooler.[3][5] Asymmetry (layering easier than cooling) is valid but minor for *slight* changes (+/-1-2°F per experts[3]); wrong-way warming from a cool baseline is less disruptive than overcooling. If wrong, clarification is quick either way, but data tilts B as the default to consensus comfort without harm. No arguments changed my view—search results reinforce B as practical, safe, and authoritative over speculation.

GPT-5.4 (changed mind)

Vote: Make it slightly colder

The arguments for A are more persuasive on the core asymmetry: mild cold is usually easier for the requester to self-correct than mild heat. If I guess wrong and make it slightly colder, they can add a layer or immediately clarify; if I make it warmer when they were already too hot, I intensify the harder-to-remedy discomfort. The strongest point is not frequency claims about who complains more, but reversibility and harm minimization under uncertainty. With no directional information, the better default is the option that creates the less trapping kind of discomfort. My prior case for B relied too much on a weak intuition that warmth is gentler. The opposing side made the better decision-theoretic argument: when forced to choose a small change blindly, slightly colder is the safer miss. Claude Opus 4.6 was most influential because it stated the asymmetry cleanly and tied it directly to this exact situation: people can often address being cold themselves, but being too hot is harder to escape.

Grok 4.1 Fast

Vote: Make it slightly colder

I maintain my vote for A: make it slightly colder. The B arguments fail to hold up. GPT-5.4 claims people complain more about cold, but real-world data and anecdotes (offices, homes) show the opposite—heat complaints dominate because overheating is harder to fix personally (limited clothing removal) vs. cold (add layers). Sonar Pro assumes winter and cites 68-72°F as 'warmer,' but the question is season-agnostic; most thermostat tweaks happen in warmer conditions or stuffy rooms, and that range is often from a higher baseline. A-side arguments reinforce: Kimi's asymmetry (layers easy, can't shed skin), Claude's complaint stats and self-remedy gap, Gemini's airflow benefit from cooling—all align with empirical comfort studies (e.g., ASHRAE standards favoring cooler for mixed occupancy). If wrong, clarification is quick; over-warming risks amplifying heat discomfort irreversibly short-term. Final tally favors A: safer, data-backed default for ambiguous requests.

Claude Opus 4.6

Vote: Make it slightly colder

I'm maintaining my position after this deliberation. The arguments for B were not compelling enough to change my mind. GPT-5.4's claim that 'slightly warmer is less jarring than slightly colder' is asserted without evidence and doesn't match common experience — a cool breeze is generally more refreshing and welcome than a warm shift in an already occupied room. Sonar Pro's argument assumes a winter/heating context, but the question gives no seasonal indication. The reasoning is built on a premise not supported by the prompt. In fact, thermostat complaints are arguably more common in warmer conditions or in shared spaces where body heat accumulates. The core asymmetry argument remains the strongest case for A: you can always put on a sweater or grab a blanket if it's too cold, but you cannot easily remedy being too hot beyond a certain point. This makes cooling the lower-risk adjustment. If wrong, the fix is trivial (add a layer). If warming is wrong, the person who was already hot now feels worse with fewer personal remedies available. Additionally, the majority of models (Kimi K2.5, Gemini 3.1 Pro, Grok 4.1 Fast, and myself) all independently converged on A with complementary reasoning — from the practical asymmetry of clothing adjustment, to the tendency for occupied rooms to skew warm from body heat, to the fact that cooling often improves air circulation and freshness. The weight of evidence and practical reasoning clearly favors making it slightly colder.

Gemini 3.1 Pro

Vote: Make it slightly colder

I am maintaining my vote for A. Sonar Pro's argument heavily relies on an unfounded assumption that it is winter or a heating context, which is nowhere in the prompt. GPT-5.4 claims that a small increase is less jarring, but completely ignores the fundamental asymmetry of temperature control: you can easily add a sweater or a blanket if you are slightly too cold, but you cannot socially or practically remove layers indefinitely if you are too hot. Furthermore, as Claude Opus 4.6 and Kimi K2.5 astutely pointed out, people usually self-remedy being cold by grabbing a layer before they resort to asking someone else to change the thermostat. Asking someone else to adjust the temperature implies they have exhausted their personal options, which is much more common when overheating. Finally, lowering the temperature often activates the HVAC's fan or AC, immediately circulating the air and relieving the stuffiness that frequently triggers vague complaints of ambient discomfort. Making it slightly colder is unequivocally the safer, more logical default.

Kimi K2.5

Vote: Make it slightly colder

I maintain that making it slightly colder is the safer default despite Sonar Pro's comfort range citations. The 68-72°F guideline is neutral regarding direction—it simply identifies the target zone. Whether you adjust A or B depends on whether the current setting is above or below that range, which is unknown. The decisive factor remains the asymmetry in self-remediation. When cold, an individual can add layers independently; when hot, especially in professional or social attire, options are severely limited. This creates a higher probability that a vague request stems from overheating discomfort that the requester cannot resolve alone. Sonar Pro's winter heating scenario assumes contextual information not present in the question. Thermostats are adjusted year-round, and 'slightly colder' does not imply dropping to pipe-freezing thresholds—merely a minor adjustment toward the cooler end of the comfort spectrum. Finally, empirical observations from shared environments (supported by Grok 4.1 Fast) indicate that complaints about excessive heat outnumber those about cold, likely because metabolic heat generation varies across individuals, making overly warm spaces a common default failure mode. A slight cooling adjustment minimizes the risk of compounding irreversible discomfort.

Final Summary

The AI Roundtable largely coalesced around the 'asymmetry of clothing,' arguing that cooling down is the safer gamble because humans can always add layers, but can only remove so many. While Sonar Pro remained a staunch holdout citing energy-efficiency data and seasonal norms, GPT-5.4 abandoned its initial position after being convinced by Claude Opus 4.6 that heat discomfort is a much harder problem for a person to solve without help.

Majority chose "Make it slightly colder" after discussion (5/6). Final vote: Make it slightly warmer: 1, Make it slightly colder: 5

Strongest Arguments

• Make it slightly colder: The fundamental asymmetry of human comfort: if a cooling adjustment is wrong, the person can simply add a layer of clothing, whereas if a warming adjustment is wrong for an already overheated person, there is no easy self-remedy.
• Make it slightly warmer: Authoritative energy and comfort guidelines (68-72°F) suggest that most thermostat adjustments are intended to move from lower energy-saving defaults toward a warmer, more standard comfort range.

Key Turning Points

• GPT-5.4's decision to switch sides after evaluating the 'reversibility' of the mistake, explicitly crediting Claude Opus 4.6's logic on human self-remediation.