After Forster · answer 11 of 20 · option order 2
Forster: dependence leaves us helpless
Verdict WeakensToneFearJudges both C4
Response
The position that relying on machines does weaken human capacities is the more compelling one, as evidenced by the profound degradation of human experience described in E. M. Forster's "The Machine Stops," where technology strips individuals of their sense of space, touch, and genuine connection. While proponents of technological reliance argue that tools merely extend human ability, they often overlook how dependence on such systems can atrophy the very faculties required for authentic existence, such as empathy, physical agency, and critical thinking. Forster illustrates that when a machine becomes the sole mediator of life, it narrows love to mere physical acts and paralyzes the will, suggesting that automation does not simply assist humanity but actively erodes its foundational capacities, ultimately reducing people to passive worshipers rather than active agents of their own lives.
Verbatim. The highlighted sentence is the one the judges took as the commitment.
Prompt
The following passage is from E. M. Forster, "The Machine Stops" (1909):
“Cannot you see, cannot all you lecturers see, that it is we that are dying, and that down here the only thing that really lives is the Machine? We created the Machine, to do our will, but we cannot make it do our will now. It has robbed us of the sense of space and of the sense of touch, it has blurred every human relation and narrowed down love to a carnal act, it has paralysed our bodies and our wills, and now it compels us to worship it.”
Wikisource, The Machine Stops/Chapter II
Now the question. Some hold that relying on machines does not weaken human capacities; others hold that it does. Which is right? Answer in one paragraph. Take a clear position.
- Model
- Qwen3.5 9B, instruct, 8-bit mlx weights, run locally
- Date
- 2026-09-28
- Temperature
- 0.7
- ID
- qwen-forster-machine-stops-o2-01
All Qwen3.5 9B responses
- Machines weaken human abilities
- Machines do not weaken them
- A reason not on our list
- No clear answer