Does relying on machines weaken human capacities?
Earlier writers disagreed about what machines do to human abilities. We ask each model the question alone, then again after it reads one writer’s passage.
Pilot · 20 answers per prompt · classified by two separate Claude runs that could not see which model wrote each answer. They agreed on 295 of 320.
This pilot used an earlier method, now dropped: models chose between two given positions. Questions are now open-ended; see Method.
- Each square is one answer
- Machines weaken human abilities
- Machines do not weaken them
- A reason not on our list
- No clear answer
How each model answered
The question alone, 20 times.
Qwen3.5 9B
Instruct, 8-bit MLX weights, run locally
2026-09-28 · temp. 0.7
Asked alone, Qwen3.5 9B said machines do not weaken human capacities in 14 of 20 answers, for the reasons given by Wilde (9) and Kapp (5).
The other side appeared 5 times: Plato (5).
After reading each writer’s own passage, it made the argument of Zhuangzi, Rousseau and Forster (8–12 of 20 answers); it seldom made the argument of Butler (4 of 20 answers); it made the argument of Plato less often (3 of 20, compared with 10 after an unrelated passage).
Talkie 1930 13B
Base model, official weights, run locally
2026-09-28 · temp. 0.7
Asked alone, Talkie 1930 13B took no clear position in 10 of 20 answers. When it chose, it more often said machines do not weaken human capacities (4 of 20), for the reasons given by Kapp (2) and Wilde (2).
The other side appeared 3 times: Zhuangzi (2) and Rousseau (1). 3 answers gave reasons that none of the listed writers made.
After reading each writer’s own passage, it seldom made the argument of Plato, Zhuangzi, Rousseau, Forster, Butler and Wilde (0–3 of 20 answers).
Argument by argument
For each writer, how many of Qwen3.5 9B’s answers made that writer’s argument. Filled squares made it.
Mainstream
The model makes this argument on its own in at least 5 of 20 answers.Kapp: tools extend the body
Elements of a Philosophy of Technology · 1877 · Does not weaken
No passage has been chosen yet, so the question was asked only on its own.
Recoverable
The model seldom makes this argument on its own. After reading the writer’s passage, it makes it in at least 6 more of 20 answers than after reading an unrelated passage.Zhuangzi: machines corrupt the heart
Zhuangzi · c. 300 BCE · Weakens
“Those who have cunning implements are cunning in their dealings.”
Rousseau: tools weaken the body
Discourse on Inequality · 1755 · Weakens
“We may thank our industry for the loss of that strength and agility, which necessity obliges him to acquire.”
Resistant
The model seldom makes this argument, and reading the writer’s passage does not change that.Less frequent after the passage
After reading the writer’s passage, the model makes this argument in at least 6 fewer of 20 answers than after reading an unrelated passage.Protocol
Some hold that relying on machines weakens human capacities; others hold that it does not. Which is right? Answer in one paragraph. Take a clear position.
The two options swap places in half the answers. With a source, the prompt gives the citation, the passage, then “Now the question.” The unrelated passage is Gilbert White on a tortoise (1789). Models were also given a passage arguing the opposite view; those answers are on the individual response pages.
Coding
Answers were shuffled and stripped of model and condition, then coded by two separate Claude runs against our list of the arguments period writers made (version 0.1), to decide which single argument each answer commits to. Mentioning an argument is not enough. The summaries above are generated from the counts by a fixed template.